PRODUCTOS ESPERADOS

Of the 18 respondents, six stated that they dropped out because it was essential to contribute to the household income, otherwise they would not have survived. For example, Shabir, a class 9 dropout who was working on a tea stall stated:

My father is a street vendor who sells small household items on his bicycle. His income is not enough to meet family needs. We do not have a steady and regular source of income. I would notice that my mother was usually borrowing money from neighbours to pay the electricity bill and sometimes to buy food items for us. It was hard for me to continue schooling in such poor conditions. I was the eldest son and decided to leave school to earn money. I am earning Rs.5000 ($50) a month and giving it to my mother.

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Mateen, a secondary school dropout, was grazing his cow at the foot of the mountains in a remote village as he told his story of dropping out:

I dropped out of school because of our household poverty. My elder brother also dropped out from secondary education for the same reasons. Our parents are not able to afford our schooling cost. I am grazing this cow. We will sell it next year to earn some profit. This is our family business. We graze cattle for one year and sell them in the nearby urban markets.

Similarly, Akbar, another class 10 dropout who was working as a conductor with a local passenger van, stated:

I have ever witnessed my parents in financial difficulties. My father had big debts on him. When I saw my family struggling for daily needs, I decided to withdraw from school and earn some money. I am earning Rs.9000 ($90) a month. I give this money to my mother to run the kitchen. Without my monetary contribution, it is not possible to meet monthly household expenses.

While travelling around the rural areas of the district of Jhelum during the fieldwork, the researcher observed that child labour was a common occurrence. Primary and elementary- aged children were also found to be working at tea stalls, local restaurants, brick kilns, vehicle repair shops, and in the vegetable markets.

This study’s findings are consistent with previous empirical studies which reported that household poverty pulled many underprivileged pupils out of school (Abuya et al., 2013; Al-

Hroub, 2014; Ampiah & Adu‐Yeboah, 2009; Bridgeland, 2010; Chugh, 2011; Dakwa et al.,

2014; Huisman & Smits, 2009; Hunt, 2008; Moyi, 2012; Munsaka, 2011; Stephens, 2000; Yi et al., 2012).

6.3.3 Parental Illness or Death and Loss of Family Income

Some previous studies on school dropout evidenced that parental death or illness limited family finances, which affected children’s school attendance (Ananga, 2011; Case & Ardington, 2006; Kane, 2004; No & Hirakawa, 2012; Woldehanna & Hagos, 2015; Yi et al., 2012); the findings of this research are consistent with the past studies. The effect of parental illness or death is more severe in a country like Pakistan where the social security system is poor and fragile. Danish, a class 9 dropout, told his story of dropping out:

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My father worked as a labourer with local masons. He borrowed some money from family members and friends to go to abroad for work. When he arrived in a Middle Eastern country, he fell ill and returned to Pakistan. He has been bed-bound since long due to his illness. We have no other family sources. People who loaned us money are demanding it back. I recently dropped out of class 9 to pay off my father’s debt. Abbas, a class 9 dropout who was working at a local bakery and sweet shop, narrated his story in the following way:

My father was a lorry driver and died in a road accident. We faced financial problems as our father was the main source of family income. I was in class 9 and had to leave school to earn money. I am earning Rs.9000 ($90) a month and contributing to the household income. This contribution is an absolute necessity for family survival. Muzzafar, a class 10 dropout, narrated his story of dropping out in short words:

My father used to work in the local cement factory as a labourer. Now he is sick and cannot work anymore. I had no other option than to quit school and work to contribute to the family income.

Similarly, Asif dropped out from class 9; he was working as a bus conductor and earning Rs.8000 ($80) a month. He said:

My father passed away when I was in primary school. Our maternal uncle would give us financial support for schooling. But his own children have grown up now and he is not able to support us fully. I am already weak in studies and not able to complete secondary education. My mother remains sick and she is on regular medication. I cannot see my mother dying without taking medicines. I dropped out to work and buy medicines for my sick mother.

Asif further added to his story:

When my father was alive our economic conditions were not good. My father was not able to buy me new uniform and shoes for school. I used to wear my cousins’ used uniforms and shoes. My family hardly met my educational needs at school. After the death of our father, we were totally depending on our relatives for daily needs. As the financial support from the relatives squeezed, I had to take responsibility being the eldest sibling.

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This finding is consistent with some other studies; for example, No et al. (2012) reported that orphans in rural Cambodia are eight times more likely to drop out than children with living parents. Similarly, Senne (2014) maintained that orphans in rural Madagascar were 20 percent more likely to drop out of school, compared with children with living parents.

The stories of Danish, Abbas, Muzzafar and Asif clearly show that parental illness and death have a substantial emotional impact on children and families, the most immediate impact being on the children’s school attendance. Parental death or illness causes loss of family income; this income constraint not only limits children’s schooling opportunities but also often forces secondary pupils to drop out in order to work and contribute to the household income.

None of the children reported that their parents had ever taken out life or medical insurance. Danish and Muzzafar further stated that they bought medicines for their sick parents privately, and usually took them to nearby cities to see doctors, as local public health centres are lacking in doctors and medicines. These results suggest that when resources are scarce, parental death or illness puts extra financial pressure on poor families. This income shock affects school age children and often pulls them out of school and into child labour. Although secondary school children are more able to work in the local labour market than their younger siblings, they may often take on the burden of their family’s financial problems and drop out of school in order to work.

This further implies that sudden income shocks affect secondary school children more than their siblings in primary classes, because the opportunity cost of a 15 year old secondary school child opting for school over the labour market is greater than that of a 10 year old primary school child. Similarly, corresponding social or family pressures on each to drop out would also vary accordingly.

It also implies that the public health and formal insurance systems are failing in rural Pakistan. If the public sector is unable to provide better health facilities in remote villages, it pushes rural people to go to the big cities, which not only increases treatment costs for the poor, but also puts an extra burden on the public health sector in urban areas. Danish and Muzzafar said during interview that they distrusted the basic public health services in the area due to the lack of doctors and medicines. Danish further reported that he took his mother to a private hospital for a medical check-up and bought prescribed medicines for her from his wages.

However, even when a family has adequate resources, parental illness or death will inevitably have a severe emotional impact on children and may affect their performance at

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school, but this in itself does not necessarily limit their educational opportunities. This is evident from Ameer’s story, a class 10 dropout who stated:

My father was a retired Navy officer. He remained ill for long time after his retirement and eventually died when I was in class 7. I had four sisters. We had some agricultural land and handsome family savings in the bank. My father’s illness or death did not impact our schooling. My sisters all completed their secondary education. I dropped out of class 10 because I was more interested in becoming a religious singer.

From Ameer’s statement, it is clear that his father’s illness and consequent death did not stop his four sisters completing their secondary schooling because the family had enough resources to cope with the income shock. The father’s death may have impacted their performance at school, but it did not cause them to cease their studies for good. Ameer was interested in becoming a religious singer, but finance was not a problem for him in terms of his completing secondary education.

Similarly, Azmat, a class 9 dropout, stated that he was more interested in becoming a truck driver than in completing his schooling. However, his desire to become a truck driver was influenced by economic factors because, according to Azmat, this was a highly paid profession and he wanted to contribute to the household income. On the other hand, Ameer’s wish to become a religious singer was not designed to meet family financial needs; rather he aspired to this as a future career. Thus, his decision to dropout was optional.

The findings here further suggest that the education system in Pakistan has only one goal: to complete secondary education. The child who wishes to pursue a vocational career would not be supported. Some children see greater advantages in pursuing a career, in becoming a singer or truck driver, for example, than completing secondary school; hence they drop out of school.