Factors Contributing to Girls Dropout from Government Primary Schools in Tehsil Kot Addu, District Muzaffargarh, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study of Parents' and Education Officials' Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Persistent gender disparities in primary school completion continue to undermine progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 in Pakistan, where national estimates indicate that only 22% of girls complete primary schooling compared with 47% of boys, and more than 3.2 million girls remain out of school nationally. Rural districts of southern Punjab report disproportionately high female attrition, yet micro-level, multi-informant evidence from these settings remains scarce. Objective: This study examined the socioeconomic, familial, and institutional factors associated with girls' dropout from government primary schools in Tehsil Kot Addu, District Muzaffargarh, Punjab, and assessed parent and education-official perceptions of School Management Committee (SMC) performance. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using simple random sampling to recruit 200 respondents (100 parents, predominantly mothers, and 100 education officials comprising teachers, Assistant Education Officers, and Education District Officers). Data were collected via a pre-tested, structured interview schedule and analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test of association (α = 0.05). Results: Education officials identified household poverty (37%) and parental illiteracy (30%) as the leading determinants of girls' dropout, followed by institutional weaknesses (10%) and social taboos (5%). Among parents, 83% endorsed (strongly agreed/agreed) that parental education level influences enrollment, 75% linked non-functional "ghost" schools to reduced enrollment, and 39% expressed dissatisfaction with SMC performance. A significant association was found between perceived dropout determinants and beliefs regarding parental education (χ² = 59.90, df = 16, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Girls' primary school dropout in rural Punjab reflects an interaction of household poverty, parental illiteracy, and weak school-level governance. Findings support integrated poverty-alleviation, parental-literacy, and SMC-strengthening interventions to improve female primary retention.

Keywords: Student Dropouts; Educational Status; Poverty; Rural Population; Parents; Pakistan