Unique Foundation (UF) recently held its 2nd edition of dropout prevention campaign for students at a ceremony held at the Cardinal Senior Secondary School, in Kanifing. The theme of this year’s event is, ‘Stay in school, my education my future’.
Taking into account education plays a pivotal role in the development of any nation, it cannot be underestimated children leaving school before graduating poses a threat to the social and economic development of a nation.
It is evident that the students who leave school earlier before graduation lack the needed educational support and mentoring, therefore they are at high risk of dropping out and once that happens, it culminates into the increasing level of poverty in society.
The objectives of this association is to encourage the most at risk students not to drop out of school, as well as to identify earlier which students are at risk of dropping out and to support at risk students to remain in school until graduation.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Solomon Ifeanyi Nathaniel, national coordinator of Unique Foundation (UF), said that the purpose of the workshop was to encourage and stimulate students to keep them in school.
He indicated that the figure of out-of-school children globally was estimated to be 67 million between the ages of 12 to 15 years old, as sub-Saharan Africa is home to about 30 million people.
According to him, understanding the roles education play in relation to economic and social development of individuals and society at large is crucial as it creates a better way of taking care of ourselves, and consequently creating a better society to live in.
He indicated that the prevention of secondary school dropouts and promotion of further studies thereafter are important.
Abdul Karim Sesay highlighted some of the reasons students drop out of school, reminding the participants that some of them would want to become nurses, lawyers, social workers, medical doctors and accountant and they need good education to acquire the social and scientific skills that would enable them as an individual to attain such lucrative positions and a high status in society.
He stated that with good educational backgrounds they would attract the kind of respect they deserve as a person in society, but if they drop out of school they would face the social outcome of the world especially for a girl child.
This in most cases, he went on, lead them to early marriages, teenage pregnancy, prostitution, low pay jobs, etc, adding that boys who become drop out from the school mostly engaged in pick-pockets, gambling, and racketeers and eventually get involve in illegal migration.
According to him, 95% of the youths going through the ‘back way’ to Europe are school dropouts that did not complete high school.
Sesay informed participants that staying in school has life challenges especially on skills and education attainment but to overcome those challenges they need to decide not to go away because education is very important in the life of every human being.
He thus challenged the students not to become dropouts but to stay in school.
“When you become a dropout you are likely to be involved in delinquent crime, delinquent behaviors, antisocial behaviors, most of the time face financial difficulties, victims of being dupe”.
He went further to elaborate on what the school administrators should take note as so many students are facing conflicts and domestic problems at home. He said they need to have trained social workers or physiologists in secondary schools to assist in solving the social problems faced by students and help them adjust to the changes happening in their lives as they would know exactly when a child is happy or not, what is happening with the child, what type of behaviour he/she is putting on.
Sisay maintained that schools should complement government’s efforts by working concertedly with the government, NGOs and other bodies to educate children on the benefit of high school education, develop programmes to re-engage at risk children. “Improving and enforcing new and existing laws, compulsory school laws should be designed to promote school attendance and improve the career outcome of students.”
