Social vulnerability has worsened considerably in Brazil after the arrival of the new coronavirus. With that, the school dropout increased in the pandemic. In this sense, some surveys have already been carried out and have shown how worrying the situation is. Know more!
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School dropouts increased during the pandemic
According to a survey conducted by the Datafolha institute in February 2021, around four million Brazilian students aged 6 to 34 dropped out of school in 2020, which represents an 8.4% dropout rate school. The dropout percentage was higher among higher education students, with 16.3%.
In addition, a study released in January 2022 by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) indicated that school dropout in age group 5 to 9 years old increased from 1.41% to 5.51% in the period between 2019 and 2020, which represents an increase of 197,8%. Thus, the percentage is similar to the level observed in 2006.
Why are people dropping out of school?
The pandemic brought many issues to the fore, such as grief, hunger, unemployment, precariousness of health services, among others. Therefore, in many cases, young people are dropping out of school to help their parents work and earn the minimum to survive.
Also, during the pandemic, most schools have embraced remote teaching. However, a large portion of the population does not have the means (internet access and equipment) to follow this type of teaching. As for government initiatives to facilitate access for these students, they were insufficient.
Consequences of the increase in school dropout
The consequences of this abandonment can be quite harmful, given that the school has the role of protecting and supporting, in addition to educating. Furthermore, schooling is very important to obtain better jobs and, consequently, a better quality of life. Without this, the situation of misery in the country tends to perpetuate itself.
How to get people to go back to school?
Currently, with vaccination and the improvement in epidemiological indices, many schools have already resumed face-to-face teaching. With that, at least the part of access to classes becomes less of a problem. However, public policies to assist families are necessary in order to guarantee the maintenance of people in schools.
A family where all members are unemployed and without government assistance may allow a child to help work to the detriment of keeping himself in school, for his own survival. Therefore, it is necessary to provide classes, but also means to ensure that people stay in classrooms.