Laya faces rising dropout rates despite education advocacy

Chencho Dema

Laya-Despite ongoing efforts to promote education, Laya Central School in Gasa, one of Bhutan’s most remote schools, is facing an alarming increase in the number of students dropping out.

The school is grappling with a rise in student dropout rates as families increasingly withdraw their children from education. Once seen as a promising path, education here now faces uncertainties, casting doubt on the future of many young students.

Since 2022, 21 students, 6 girls and 15 boys, have left school based on personal reasons. In 2022 alone, seven students, two girls and five boys, left their education.

Last year, six students, two girls and four boys, dropped out. This year the number increased to eight, two girls and six boys. Of these, two boys joined the monkhood, two left for medical reasons, and the rest left due to “personal” problems.

The majority of school leavers come from Class VII and above.

According to Gasa’s education department records, the main reason students drop out is personal circumstances, followed by health-related problems and a few choosing monastic life.

Kinley, head of the Dzongkhag education officer, noted that although students drop out for a variety of reasons, no comprehensive study has been done to fully understand the issue.

“I think one of the common factors is that parents choose to keep their children at home to help with family matters,” he said, explaining that many parents see more potential in local jobs rather than formal education.

To address this problem, strategies to retain students and reduce dropout rates are being implemented. These measures include ongoing advocacy on the value of education, especially when schools reopen, providing boarding facilities from PP to Class X, and offering ongoing parenting training.

Additional focuses include facilitating school admissions to other preferred locations, improving school infrastructure and improving student care systems.

Principal Kinley Dorji noted that in the past many students dropped out of school to participate in the Cordyceps harvest. To solve this problem, the school now allows students to return after the harvest season to continue their studies. But missed lessons still impact their learning.

“We emphasize the importance of education for both parents and students,” said Kinley Dorji.

The school currently has 20 teachers, 14 of whom are contracted and hired this year, making up about 70 percent of the teaching staff new.

Last year’s VIII. Since most of the class students fail the board exams, there are only two students in Class X while there are only nine students in Class IX. Last year VI. Since all the students of Class VII failed the board exams, There is not a single student in the classroom.

Laya Central School currently has 166 students from PP to Class X.

The school was upgraded from Secondary School to Junior Secondary School in 2018.

Kinley Dorji said although there has been a slight increase in enrollment this year, definitive numbers are not yet available to confirm that trend.

Laya Gup Tshewang, who is also the Thrizin of Dzongkhag Tshogdu, stated that student dropouts in the past were mostly due to early marriages and participation in Cordyceps harvesting. However, he observed a positive change in parents’ attitudes towards education, which contributed to the increase in student enrollments.

Many parents Kuensel interviewed stated that they believed education was necessary for their children’s future and encouraged them to continue their education.

Gasa has one higher secondary school, one secondary school and two primary schools (Gasa Primary School and Lunana Primary School). There are also three Extended Classes (ECRs) at Lungo, Thanza and Mendrelthang.

Dzongkhag also has four Early Childhood Care and Development Centres, two Home-Based ECCD programmes, a Non-Formal Education (NFE) centre, and a Community Learning Centre.