School Dropout and Students’ Academic Performance in Public Twelve Years Basic Education Schools of Rwanda

The school dropout rate reduces significantly the school productivity including the students' academic performance mostly in twelve years basic education in Rwanda. The purpose of this study therefore sought to establish the relationship between school dropout and student's academic performance in public twelve years' basic education schools of Burera District in Rwanda. Correlation research design was employed. The target population was 3575 people and Yamane (1967) formula was used to get the sample size of 360 respondents. Questionnaire and interview guide were used during data collection. IMB SPSS software version 20 was used in management of quantitative data. The findings revealed that 79.2% strongly agreed that poor attendance can lead to school dropout. It was also noted that 79.4% strongly agreed that getting low Scores in examination can be considered as poor learning perspective. The findings also revealed that there is a statistical relationship between school dropout and student's academic performance in public twelve years' basic education schools. The study concludes that there was a positive and statistically significant relationship between school dropout and students' academic performance in public twelve years' basic education schools in Burera District. The study recommends that school head teachers should be held accountable for reducing the student dropout rate in secondary schools. They should also collaborate with stakeholders to secure effective resources for food preparation in schools. Additionally, the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) should change the method by which it obtains funds to sustain school feeding programs. Although it may be difficult and complicated, schools and parents should work together to provide varied meals for students. Keywords: School dropout, students' academic performance, school enrolment and twelve Years Basic education, Rwanda