Dropping Out of School in the Course of the Year in Benin: A Micro-econometric Analysis

The important role of education in economic growth has long been recognized in ecomonic literature. The aim of this study is to analyse the phenomenon of dropping out of primary school in the course of the year in Benin by identifying its causes. The study used individual data about schoolchildren and classes, which enabled a close examination of the causes of each individual case of dropping out of school. These data were complemented with interviews with stakeholders in the education system in Benin, especially the schoolchildren’s parents. With a multinomial logit model, we estimated the probability that the schoolchild would be found in one of the three situations which are “to attend school regularly†, “to take to absenteeism†, and “to abandon school altogether†. The results obtained show that variables such as the level of health, stundent’s doing activities outside of school hours, level of household, the quality of education and teachers' absenteeism are determinants of dropping out during the year, and that the phenomenon of dropping out is more pronounced among girls compared to boys. In view of these results, policy elements have been formulated ito slow the phenomenon of dropping out.