Poverty and earning compulsions for the family have pushed children out of schools : A study in dropouts in basic education level in North-East India

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that explain dropout of children from primary schools in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Design/methodology/approach – The field survey was carried out in two phases, one, during January to April of 2010 and two, between August and November of 2011. The entire research work is based on stratified random sampling. The population in Lohit district is a set of tribal and non-tribal (mostly general) people. The district has two major tribes – Mishmi and Khamti . Findings – The authors find that children dropout of school is affected by number of factors such as earning compulsions, household work, access to school, school time not suitable and parental unawareness. Research limitations/implications – It is imperative to mention here that “earning compulsion” can be described only as a derivative of the major problem of abject poverty. Practical implications – By highlighting the role of appropriate intervention as well as incapacitation, the authors believe that the findings presented above shed light on some important factors that explain dropouts. Social implications – The evidence provided in this paper underscores the importance of social interactions in analysing individual outcomes. Originality/value – The findings may have significant bearings in reducing dropout rates in India.