Factors affecting school completion by the girl child in Binga Rural District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Despite the plausible increase in the enrolment rate of girls, progress in education among rural girls at global, regional and local level has been impeded by high influx of school dropouts. The objectives of the study were to assess factors that prohibit girls from completing their formal education in Binga rural district in Zimbabwe and to explore on policy and community effort used to deal with the problem of low school completion rate among girls. The study was qualitative in nature. A sample of eleven girls was selected using convenience sampling while key informants were selected using purposive sampling. In addition, in-depth interviews were utilized to get information from the participants. Findings revealed that poor school completion rates in Binga rural district were influenced significantly by the combination of interdependent factors that include teenage pregnancies and early marriages, financial constraints, distance being travelled to attend school, perceived value of girl education, lack of career prospects and absence of female role models. The study came up with recommendations with emphasis on flexible girl-child friendly policies, comprehensive social security, community sensitization and provision of career guidance services for girls in rural areas in Zimbabwe. The study concluded that a collaborative link between school authorities and parents was crucial in order to create conducive conditions for girl education in remote areas.