Analyzing the Household Determinants of Poverty And Their Impact on Public Primary School Dropouts in Rural Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the household determinants of poverty and their impact on public primary school dropout rates in rural Sindh, Pakistan. Primary data was collected from the parents of children living in the villages of Matiari and Badin districts, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed comparing split and combined samples of these two rural districts. Study results found that the selected determinants of poverty, such as personal income, age, land-cultivation, land-holding, household migration, elderly children’s education and distance to market, significantly influenced public primary schools dropouts on the whole, however, the significance of the same variables varied across these districts. Dropouts in Badin district are more influenced by the rural economy based determinants of poverty than the same in Matiari, where semi urban economy based determinants of poverty are relatively more important. Our findings, therefore, suggest that policies aimed at discouraging primary school dropout rates must tackle these issues in a distinct way, keeping in view varying significance of the determinants of poverty and their impact on dropouts across different districts of Sindh province.