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Continuous PNAD

Necessity of working and lack of interest are major reasons for school dropout

Section: Social Statistics | Cristiane Crelier | Design: Brisa Gil

July 15, 2020 10h00 AM | Last Updated: July 17, 2020 04h55 PM

#PraCegoVer jovens em sala de aula fazendo prova
Among almost 50 million youngsters, 20.2% did not conclude basic education. Photo - Gabriel Jabur/Brasília Local Branch

Necessity of working, lack of interest and pregnancy are the main reasons causing Brazilian youngsters to stop their studies. Among the almost 50 million aged 14 to 29 in the country, about 20.2% did not conclude at least one of the levels of basic education. They amount to a total 10.1 million persons, being 58.3% men and 41.7% women Among those, 71.7% were black or brown and 27.3% were white. These are some of the data in the Education module of the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), which presents the scenario of the education sector in 2019.

Necessity of working was the main reason reported for half of the men in that age group for having dropped out of school or for never  having attended school, and the lack of interest was the reason for 33.0%. The inexistence of a school, of vacancies or of a desired shift were reasons reported by 2.7% and only 0.7% mentioned household tasks as a reason for their absence from school. Among women, the lack of interest was the main reason (24.1%) very close to the necessity of working and of pregnancy (both with 23.8%), followed by household tasks (11.5%).

Necessity of working was the main reason for youngsters in all the Major Regions, with highest rates in the South (48.3%) and Central West (43.1%) and the lowest ones in the Northeast (34.1%). The lack of interest in studying was the second main reason reported, always above 25%, with highlight to the Northeast, with 31.5%.

“These two main reasons together reached about 70% of the youngsters, regardless of the Major Region and indicate the need of measures to incentive the permanence of youngsters in school. The illiteracy in the country (6.6%) has been decreasing steadily, reaching almost the universalization of education. Raising the level of schooling up to the conclusion of high school seems to be a challenge,” says Adriana Beringuy, manager of the survey.

According to the researcher, in the case of women, pregnancy as a reason for school dropout is another aspect to be observed in terms of public policies. “Regarding that issue the South has a significantly lower index (6.4%), with almost half of the Major Region with the highest index, the North (12.7%),” Ms. Beringuy adds.