What causes a student to leave school? Financial pressure, pregnancy, health problems – the data from a recent external evaluation of “Promoting Equality in African Schools” (PEAS), PEAS-partner, and government schools in Zambia points consistently to external constraints, not disengagement.
Of the out-of-school students interviewed, 88% expressed a desire to return; none described losing interest in learning. Drawing on baseline survey results and qualitative interviews across the evaluation sample, this blog examines why students drop out, how leaving school reshapes their ambitions, and why girls bear a disproportionate share of that risk. The barriers that push students out of school don’t affect boys and girls equally, and neither do the costs of leaving school.