Students' Dropout And Grade Repetition The Case Of Public Secondary Schools In Shambu City,Oromia,Ethiopia

Dropout and grade repetition have been considered as the key indicators of educational wastage in secondary schools.The main objective of this study was to identify factors leading to educational wastage particularly,students' dropout and grade repetition and to suggest potential strategies to mitigate them in the two public secondary schools(Shambu and Abishe Garba)of Shambu city,Oromia National regional state,Ethiopia.Herein descriptive study,both quantitative and qualitative methods are used.This study consisted of 108 participants.Out of these 100 teachers,3 school principals,1school supervisor responded to questionnaires were chosen using available sampling.2PTA leaders and 2 student delegates were chosen for semi-structured interviews using purposive sampling.The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics(mean,standard deviation,and percentage)for Social science software(SPSS)version 22,so quantitative data were coded,and entered into the computer for analysis and ranking of factors affecting dropout and grade repetition.Data obtained using open-ended survey questions and interviews were analyzed qualitatively by narrating in words and incorporated in the interpretation.The results showed that,home-based factors(4.11),school-based factors(4.06),student-based factors(3.99),and socio-economic factors(3.64)were among the main factors leading to students' dropout and grade repetition.It is recommended that,to improve students' schooling against dropout and grade repetition,the education officers and school administrators should encourage open communication among stakeholders in secondary schools in monitoring and evaluating students' academic progresses.