A study of Student Absenteeism in Primary School in Delhi

Nishtha khunger, Medhavi sood and Saloni bhatti , DELHI UNIVERSITY (undergraduates final year)

WHAT IS STUDENT ABSENTEEISM ?

• Student Absenteeism-According to Merriam Webster Dictionary means chronic absence. In the context of the school it is the habitual /intentional failure from going to school.

• The problems of absenteeism begin in primary school and continue into secondary school, which makes early intervention necessary to try to prevent students from continuing on this path throughout their educational experiences (Reid, 2005).

Objectives of the study- To explore the Sociological, Psychological &

Educational cause for Student’s Absenteeism. To study the pattern of attendance and enrolment in

schools. To assess the effect of student Absenteeism on

learning outcomes. To study the demographic profile of the students. To find out the problems in schools related to

participation in terms of dual enrolment/irregular attendance/frequent absenteeism.

To study the causes of dual enrolment /irregular attendance and frequent absenteeism.

To provide suggestions for policy makers, administrators to reduce Student Absenteeism in the schools.

Methodology The study was an exploratory study to find the reasons

for student absenteeism in primary schools in Delhi. The sample was collected from 5th class students of

government schools, only those students who had attendance below 40% in the month were selected as a sample. The Primary sources of data collection were attendance registers( May-October(ongoing till Dec) 2012 ) , previous annual records , secondary sources include that of teachers , principals & classmates . The data collected till now is from MCD schools and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangatan schools (i.e. north , south & west zone). Also the teachers, principal & parent (wherever possible) of the school were interviewed. The study has used qualitative techniques where analysis has been done with the help of questionnaires, audio & video recordings and observations.

METHODOLOGY(contd.)

The main focus is to observe class V students for 4-5 days and then interacting with students with irregular and low attendance. With respect to students from each class, interaction with around 4-5 students has been done with semi structured questionnaire and interview. Their parents were also being interviewed wherever possible( personally or telephonic) andNon participant observation has been used for collecting data from classroom

SAMPLE

The sample consist of 170 primary students from Delhi. There would be detailed profiling and case studies of each has been collected and analyzed.

TOOLS A specially designed questionnaire has been

administered on the students and teachers which would consist of certain dimensions like-

1. (a) Physical/health factors2. (b) Personal Attitude3. (c) Teacher-Related Reasons4. (d) School/classroom Atmosphere Related Factors5. (e) Home / Family/Financial Related factors.

Interviews and case studies would be conducted to know the causes of student’s absenteeism.

DATA COLLECTED

PRIMARY SOURCES :– ATTENDANCE REGISTERS,PREVIOUS ANNUAL RECORDS

SECONDARY SOURCES :- TEACHERS, CLASSMATES & PRINCIPALINCLUSION CRITERIA :- Students of vth class & govt schools were

included.EXCLUSION CRITERIA :- Students other than class vth & from private schools and non profitable trust were excluded.

SNO. ZONE SCHOOL SCHOOL COVERED

STUDENTS TEACHERS PRINCIPLES

1 NORTH MCD 10 60 5 5

2 SOUTH MCD 10 30 5 4

KV 6 15 3 5

3 WEST MCD 12 35 8 4

KV 10 30 9 5

Result and Result tables

Chart no 1. - Depicting number of students , schools, teachers and prin-

cipals in MCD Schools

no of students (125)

no of schools (32)

no of teachers (18)

no of principals (13)

Chart no 2 - depicting number of stu-dents , schools , teachers & principals of

KV Schools

no of students (45)

no of schools (16)

no of teachers (12)

no of principals (10)

north zonewest zone

south zone

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4Graph no 1 - Depicting student absen-

teeism in different zones of MCD Schools in delhi

Y-Values

south zone west zone0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Graph no 2 - Depicting student abseb-teeism in south and west zone of KV's in

delhi

Series 1

Causes of AbsenteeismAccording to students According to teachers According to principals

Illness was mainly the reason for their absence's

As they go back to meet their family or because of marriage purpose .

As their exams are over so they get absent & come back till the end of July or august.

Going back to their village for family visits or for marriage purpose.

As girls have to do household work, they don’t get time to complete their home work& so get absent

Also finance of the family is an important reason as to feed the family becomes a priority rather than providing them education

When not interested . (excluding south zone)

Illness due to lack of hygiene facilities

Taking an off for cleaning their home (only in north zone) .

The financial position of the family is also a reason.

Taking care of their younger sibling Due to dual enrollment also they get absent .

On their birthdays ( in case of north zone only)

Reasons for student being absent from school.

A - Physical factors of school ( for example lack of hygiene facilities in school ,as toilets were always dirty and were never cleaned properly , also girls were not allowed to pursue their studies further .

B - Health factors (one of the major factor for absences was illness ,for example fever/flu were the most common found in almost every school .)

C - Personal/social/home related ( it include reasons like not interested in going to school due to which they also become a truant, not able to get time for homework as they are busy doing household work because their parents are busy earning money for family survival , get absent when their parents are ill , also they go back to their village for marriage or for harvesting purposes ,as Students come from poverty, & their parents are not able to provide for their schooling needs , parents do not see education &learning as a priority within their family values and so it is not the top most priority for them, at time they (students) also have to look after their siblings or elderly persons and also on their birthdays they used to be absent .

D - Teacher related (they are not able to understand the lessons that the teacher is teaching them ,the teacher is abusive & discriminatory (caste/class/religion), as a result of which they are scolded & beaten up , also no help is provided when the student is absent.)

E – Environment/peer group (for example having no proper playground & swings to play, the mid day meal provided is also not healthy as insects & bunches of hairs are found in it , also there are problems related to transportation and bad weather.)

  Thus as the child is absent from school it eventually would lead

to low social and academic skills among students, as he/she is in no longer in contact with his peers and would not be having those necessary skills that is assumed to be there in him/her by others at that point of age .Also a greater risk of dropping out early from school is found in those students which in future would lead them to engage in antisocial activities like being involved in crimes –stealing, intake of alcohol ,drugs etc.

Reasons for Student Absenteeism-Student Responses

My Mother keeps going to my relatives place so I have to do all household chores and take care of the younger siblings.

My mother works as domestic help in the homes so I have to take care of the house- cook, clean home, utensils, mop etc.

The father does not have job. The students usually go back to their village for 2-3

months(harvest season, marriage, illness). The teachers beat us and give us punishment. The difficulty of coping up after prolonged absence. Not able to understand the lessons. The class work is quite boring and too much emphasis on

writing. Teachers don’t help much except providing note books,

they don’t have time for us. They don’t have money to come to school.

Student Absenteeism-Teachers Responses

Teachers enquired about the reasons for the absenteeism of children from their peers, community etc.

They were aware of the socio- economic profile of the students and their needs.

Teachers response was they were sick or have gone to their village.

Teachers have too much of administrative work. These students are not interested in learning and

come only for money or mid-day meals. All the teachers said they were providing help

extra coaching to these students within school hours.

Tuitions and stay back not allowed under RTE.

.

Preliminary Findings of the study-

Student Absenteeism is part of a larger social problem• Students come from poverty.• Parents cannot provide for their schooling needs.• Money is used toward food rather than school supplies .• Families are barely making ends meet, so education is not

the top priority• No other choice but to leave children home.• Have to work to get money.• Girl child education was being neglected• Students have to take care of their siblings because the parents have to work and there are no other options• Parents do not see education &learning as a priority within their family values• Parent’s prior lack of commitment to education influences• their children

Findings of the study-Educational consequences• Miss out on class work/assignments• Classroom connections are not made• Fall behind in school work• Poor social skills• Isolation from friends• Failure to be passed to the next grade

Other factors contributing to students not attending school•Transportation problems • Poor health•Unsupportive family environment• Truancy

Some Observations- In almost all schools : tendency to mark the attendance of

students even though they were not present. Teachers emphasis for these students was mainly to score pass

percentage. The teachers did not provide any extra help to these students

except providing notebooks. The students were enrolled in more than one school also. No emphasis on Learning outcomes of the students. The teaching methods used were quite traditional . Pre Service Teacher Training : Artcraft/ Theatre/Dance/ Drama/

Sports to be part of the curriculum & used regularly. Better coordination b/w Teacher Training institutes & schools. Teacher Accountability was almost absent. No monitoring of Quality within the classroom. Girl child-needs, aspirations, concerns to be addressed. Greater coordination/communication b/w parents & teacher.

Policy Implications Attendance Policy needs to be strengthened and use of technology

to be adopted. Shift in policy from enrolment to retention of students. Retention and sustenance of the students needs further

strengenthing by the government. Shift in the evaluation strategies from marks alone (Pass

Percentage). The curriculum should be more participatory and greater

participation of the teacher. Education of the Girl child needs further strengthening. Need to have greater role of the SMC’s so as to reduce Student

Absenteeism. Greater coordination between teachers and parents and the

community. There should be coordination between pre- service teacher training

and the schools. Quality standards to assess students learning outcomes.

Some research related to our study

Studies show that higher attendance is related to higher achievement for students of all backgrounds (Epstein and Sheldon, 2002).

There is a close association between access, regular attendance and learning outcomes leading to meaningful access which “requires high attendance rates, progression through grades with little or no repetition and learning outcomes that confirm that basic skills are being mastered” (Lewin,2007).

This is true in the case of India where research suggests that there is an urgent need to improve the physical infrastructure, use of TLM (teaching learning material), availability of teachers and their presence in the school (Kremer et al. 2005; Mehrotra et.al, 2005; Jha and Jhingran, 2005).

The causes of absenteeism include demand issues such as health problems, demand for paid or unpaid children’s work, school phobia, anxiety and truancy among children (Kearney and Silverman, 1993).

Particular groups of children belonging to disadvantaged communities and living in remote areas are vulnerable to these problems (Govinda and Bandyopadhyay, 2008; Pratham- ASER Report, 2007).

Living in a poor family or a low-income family greatly increases the chances of being an at-risk or chronic absentee (National Centre for children in poverty Columbia University, 2007).

Factors such as parental education and the socioeconomic situation of the children are associated with absenteeism (Drèze and Kingdon, 1999).

Caste also plays an important role. Children belonging to scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) and ‘other backward castes’ (OBC) are less likely to go to school than children belonging to general castes (Drèze and Kingdon, 1999:17).

On average, children missing 10% or more of the school year scored five points less than did those who were absent up to 3% of the school year in kindergarten. (National Centre for children in poverty Columbia University, 2007).

. By the fifth grade, however, American Indian children continued to miss, on average, twice as many school days as their peers. (National Centre for children in poverty Columbia University, 2007.

Conclusion

The result indicates that there are a number of reasons responsible for student absenteeism i.e.

a) psychological reasons like low self esteem, not able to understand le which results in boredom and lack of motivation .

b) educational reasons include lack of awareness among parents, influence on learning outcomes.

c) Social reasons like lack of support from family & community, health related issues , corporal punishment , taking care of young ones as parents are busy earning money for family, visiting village for many reasons ( ex. Marriage, vacation) , neglecting education for the girl child ,time table related issues , infrastructure , economic reasons and migration to the villages for harvesting season, reasons like bad weather, transportation problems

LIMITATIONS

The sample size is small as only vth standard from government schools is included which needs further studies.

The number of schools covered was limited due to lack of support from the higher authorities.

The quantitative analysis is in the procees because it is a research project under delhi university guidelines.

The major emphasis is on the causes of absenteeism as it is a time bound study.

THANK YOU