The increasing number of students dropping out of school is a continual problem for educators in the central highlands province of Dak Lak.

Drop-out students are choosing to work instead 

According statistics from the provincial Department of Education and Training, 1,050 students left school during the first term of the 2011-2012 academic year. The figures included 291 primary pupils, 549 secondary students and 210 from high schools.

Ea Tul is one of the communes with the most alarming student drop-out rate in Cu M’gar District. The managing board of Ea Tul Secondary School reported 27 drop-outs in the first term of this school year, of whom 11 have since returned to school.

“We face a lot of difficulties in persuading children especially those from ethnic minority groups here to go to school,” said a teacher from Ea Tul Secondary School, Nguyen Dinh Bac, who has spent years encouraging local children to go to school.

“Children usually run away when seeing teachers visiting their houses to persuade them to return to school.”

Bac took us to visit a student named Y Dik Adrong in Yao Village, who has left school for several months. Seeing us coming, Y Dik Adrong ran away.

The village head, Y Bhem Koza, then took us to another student Y Cung Nie who had dropped out of school for three months. Y Cung Nie said that he found studying boring and difficult.

“I’ve decided to find a job and won’t return to school,” the sixth-form student confirmed.

Meanwhile, Y Cung Nie’s father, Y Thu Ayun said that he had also tried to persuade his son to return to school but Y Cung Nie had refused.

“We can only help the students who don’t come to school due to economic difficulties,” Bac said. “But there’s no way for us to deal with those who do not want to study anymore.”

According to head of the Department for Education and Traning in Cu M’ga Distrct, Dinh Van Lien, 70-80% of the students are from Ede, Mnong and Jarai minority groups.

“Many parents also want their children to go to school but the children don’t want to go,” Lien said. “Some children even threaten to commit suicide if their parents force them to study.”