Evaluation of Family Socio-Economic and Gender-Related Factors Influencing Pupils’ Drop-Out on Basic Education Enrolment in North-West, Nigeria

This study evaluated family socioeconomic and gender-related factors influencing pupils’ drop-out on basic education enrolment in North-West Nigeria. Two objectives, research questions, and null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population comprised 253,451 head teachers, teachers, School-Based Management Committee (SBMC) officials, and Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) officials across the seven states of North-West Nigeria. A sample of 384 respondents was selected from Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara States using multistage sampling. Data were collected through a researcher-developed questionnaire validated by three experts from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tested the hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that low family income, the cost of writing materials, household financial difficulties, and seasonal family work were perceived as socioeconomic factors associated with pupils’ dropout, with a grand mean of 3.46. Gender-related factors, including domestic responsibilities, early marriage, inadequate funds for sanitary pads, pressure on boys to work, gender-role expectations, and preference for boys’ education, recorded a grand mean of 3.48. The hypothesis results indicated no statistically significant differences in respondents’ opinions regarding the two categories of factors. The study concluded that socioeconomic challenges and gender-related barriers are important perceived factors associated with pupils’ dropout. It recommended strengthening conditional cash transfers for disadvantaged households and promoting gender equality to ensure equal educational opportunities for all pupils