Causes of School Dropouts in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2021

The Ministry of Education (MOE-KRG) conducted a campaign for raising awareness among students, parents and local communities. Despite this operation and many other efforts by the Kurdistan Regional Government to reform the education sector targeting all aspects, numerous challenges remain that are hereditary and persistent. These challenges involve socioeconomic, institutional, and cultural dimensions and factors. This research paper studied these factors enumerating the differences between genders and between urban and rural areas in the Kurdistan region. This paper analyzed survey data officially obtained from the MOE-KRG using quantitative approaches. This paper conducted multiple Pearson’s Chi-Square tests and cross-tabulation analyses. Results indicated that there are statically significant differences between male students and female students in terms of child labor, disabilities, and school distance, which dropping out rates among male students were higher than those of female students due to these factors. Furthermore, dropping out of school was more common among seventh graders. Hence, it is essential to expand the role of the social workers in schools to support students and reduce rates of dropping out of schools, in addition to raising awareness in the communities and implement policy reform in the education system.