Socio-Economic Factors behind School Drop-out in Rural Areas in Morocco an Empirical Analysis
Noureddine RADOUAI
Associate Researcher at College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
Ozcan OZTURK
Assistant Professor of Economics, at College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar
Abstract:
School dropout is a serious challenge around the world, particularly developing nations, as education is considered the main crucial pillar in development. Despite the governmental efforts, Morocco still suffers from this phenomenon especially in rural and mountainous areas. Using a binary logistic regression model, this study measures the impact of socio-economic factors on the probability that a child leaves the school in the rural areas in the province of Khouribga. This study claims that this is the first search of its kind in Morocco to predict school dropout. The results are very interesting suggesting a significant impact of parents’ educational level and family income on school dropout. Moreover, the study analyses the current interventions to tackle this phenomenon, proposing an intervention designed in the form of a theory of change, based on the results of the study.
Keywords: School Dropout, Human Development, Rural Areas, Binary Logistic Regression, Morocco, Province of Khouribga