Poverty, child labour and violence push boys out of school, says Unesco

Poverty, child labour, bullying and violence are among key drivers behind boys disengaging from school, according to education experts.

This, as the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (Unesco) latest global report has pointed to at least 132 million boys of primary and secondary school age having dropped out of primary and secondary learning institutions.

Key findings:

• Globally, only 88 men were enrolled in tertiary education for every 100 women; and
• In 73 countries, fewer boys than girls were enrolled in upper-secondary education, while the opposite was the case in 48 countries.

Unesco said the data highlighted “a global phenomenon: child labour and poverty – among other factors, preventing boys from engaging fully with learning and contributing to repetition and dropout”.

“In all regions, except sub-Saharan Africa, young men are underrepresented in higher education. This is particularly acute in North America, Western Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, where 81 young men for every 100 young women are enrolled at tertiary education.

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“In East Asia and the Pacific, the equivalent is 87, while in the Arab States and Central and Eastern Europe region, it is 91,” said the report.

In some countries, signs that boys fell behind “already appear at the end of the first level”.

“In 57 countries with data, boys aged 10 performed worse than girls in mastering reading skills. Adolescent boys continued to lag behind girls in reading skills at the secondary level.

“This trend is seen across East Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, Caribbean and the Arab States – showing some of the highest risk of boys dropping out of school,” said the report.

According to SA indicators:

• Out of school rate for children in primary school was last year standing at 12.98% (male) and 10.14 (female); and
• Out of school rate for children and adolescents of primary and secondary school age in 2022, was 10.54% (male) and 8.17% (female).

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Kathryn Kure at Data Myna described the plight of boys as “complex”, saying they faced a myriad challenges.

“The causes can include poor performance at school, violence and bullying at school, which disproportionately affects them.

“A primary driver is poverty and the need to work. Girls also drop out, but often for different reasons such as needing to be a caretaker at home,” said Kure.

Boys, she said, could be “at risk in terms of poor performance – needing more support in the early years”.

“Gendered norms and expectations also come into play,” she said.

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Kure said policies were “needed to address this [gendered norms and expectations] in particular situations, in a holistic manner”.

“This is from ensuring a safe environment at school, to early childhood development support for those with difficulties in learning – ensuring an inclusive learning environment.

“It requires a whole-school approach, including parents and the community at large. It should be noted in the Unesco report that while boys are more likely to drop out in later years, girls are more likely never to have enrolled at school,” she said.

Prof Mary Metcalfe of the University of Johannesburg’s School of Public Management: “Girls in SA are outperforming boys in the [National Senior Certificate] and in bachelor graduations.

“This includes in the areas of maths and science, at both levels. While [girls are] subject to various forms of gender discrimination and marginalisation, including GBV (gender-based violence) – which must be addressed, the boy is also affected by a culture, which expects him to be dominant and strong.”

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