Prevalence of Primary School Dropout in Bale Zone Pastoralists of Oromia Region, Southeastern Ethiopia

Primary school dropout in the area of pastoralists is a complex issue in Ethiopia particularly in Oromia Region, Bale Zone. However, the problem has not been addressed yet. Thus, this study is conducted with the aim to assess the prevalence of primary school dropout in Bale Zone of Oromia Region, Southeastern Ethiopia. Cross-sectional research design was used to attain the objective of the research. School principals, supervisors, members of parent teacher association and Kebele education and training board, woredas and zonal education office heads were participated in this study. Varity of data collection tools were employed namely, interview, focus group discussion guide and document analysis. The analysis was made both quantitatively and qualitatively as per the nature of the data. The results show that the overall dropout rate was 13%. More specifically, the highest dropout rate was found in grade seven for boys and in grade five for girls. In the schools which have food support the rate was low and vise versa. Out of the four woredas of the study area the rate was high in Sewena.