School Dropout Among Dalit Students: Trends and Causes in Molung Rural Municipality

Abstract The school dropout rate of Dalit children in Nepal is higher than that of the upper castes. The main objective of this paper is to find out the rate and reasons for Dalit children dropping out of school. Molung Rural Municipality has been selected as the study area. The school dropout rate has been calculated based on the school enrollment records within the rural municipality. Interviews were conducted with the parents of students who dropped out of school to determine the reasons for dropping out. Similarly, interviews have been conducted with key informants. It has been argued that the crisis in the patron-client relationship determines the tendency of Dalit children to drop out of school. It has been found that they cannot continue their education because they have problems fulfilling the necessities such as food, and clothing. Education is a necessity after the need for food is met. All family members should give priority to providing food. Therefore, they are forced to drop out of school because they leave their studies and go to work. The main finding of this article is that children are forced to drop out of school due to being forced to play the role of helpers in household chores and working as daily wage laborers Keywords: Dalit student, dropout, wage labor, lack of basic needs, low priority on education, and early marriage, Bista system.