The issue of school drop-outs within the education systems of both developed and developing countries has been a major concern for a long period of time. Of course, there are several factors which individually or collectively are responsible for school drop-outs which could  broadly fall into two groups-voluntary and  involuntary. Among the factors which are related to school drop-outs are culture, tradition, family break ups/single parents and poverty.
In many societies, especially agriculture-based ones, children are a source of labour in family-type farms and as such when children reach an age when they are capable of doing physical work they are withdrawn by their parents from school to work on farms. In other societies, because of culture ad tradition, girls are removed from school to facilitate their early marriage.
However, in the more modern societies, family break-ups/single parents and poverty are perhaps the major factors which impinge on school drop outs which affect every society in varying degrees.
In Uganda, recent studies done on causes of children dropping out of primary school  showed that multiple social-economic related factors in the community and in the school were key in causing drop-outs and these were location specific and varied for boys and girls (Nakanyike, Kasente & Balihuta, 2002, DHS EdData Survey, 2001, Save the Children Fund, 2002). The DHS survey (2001), which had a national coverage, established that the majority of school-going boys and girls aged 6-18 who have left school dropped out during primary school. Only about 10% dropped out while attending secondary school. The mean age at drop-out for boys and girls is 13, indicating that children drop out at the time they are supposed to be completing primary school.
In the last decade, in light of the stable population growth which is about 1.5 percent, the decrease of the number of students from 18 million to 12 million shows that about 6 million students have joined the school drop-outs, which is a cause for concern and very painful because according to this, from every three Iranian students, one student drops out and can no longer continue hisher education. (Aftab state-run website– Sep. 26, 2011)
In Guyana, we have also been affected by school drop-outs; however, Education Minister Shaik Baksh has reported that there has been a decline and credited this mainly to the redesigning of the curriculum to give more attention to technical and vocational learning.
Speaking at a recent forum, he reported that these new interventions have been very significant in this regard, noting that dropout rates at both primary and secondary schools have fallen by 50 per cent in the past five years.
He said the drop outs at secondary schools moved downward from 12 per cent in 2005 to 5.5 per cent in 2010, while at the primary level, the drop outs, over the past five years, moved from four per cent in 2005 to two per cent in 2010. During that period, the rate fluctuated from four per cent in 2005 to 4.6 per cent in 2006 but descended to four per cent in 2007.
The rate dropped further to 3.35 per cent in 2008, increased to 3.65 per cent in 2009 but showed an appreciable drop to two per cent in 2010.
Baksh pointed specifically to the introduction of the Secondary School Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), by the ministry, an initiative designed to stem school drop-outs and ensure secondary school students are adequately prepared for the world of work.
He said, under that programme, students are given the opportunity to do courses in Language and Communication, Mathematics, Integrated Science and general studies in Agricultural Science, Industrial Technology, Home Economics and Visual Arts.     
This is an encouraging trend and one would hope it is sustained so that our drop-out rate would eventually reach the barest minimum because  the negative, long-term adverse impact on individuals and the society are obvious. When a child drops out of school a successful future for him or her is severely curtailed because he or she would be ill qualified and equipped to gain a proper job and it is unlikely that, that child would later return to some form of study or schooling. And in today’s world, school drop-outs are easy preys for the drug peddlers and other criminal elements.
It is therefore in the interest of any society to ensure that the rate of school drop-outs are kept at the lowest possible level.