Financial strain, early marriages drive school dropouts to nearly 40 000

NEARLY 40 000 learners dropped out of both primary and secondary school in Zimbabwe last year, with financial constraints, early marriages, pregnancy and child labour among the major contributing factors, it has been established.

According to the 2025 Primary and Secondary Education Statistics Report, also known as the Education Management Information System (EMIS) Report compiled by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary

Education, a total of 13 032 primary school learners and 26 704 secondary school learners dropped out from an overall enrolment of 4 671 149 learners.

“A total of 13 032 primary school dropouts, with 7 242 males and 5 790 females were recorded in 2025. The leading cause of dropout was financial constraints, affecting 5 548 pupils, slightly higher among females than males. The second most common reason was absconding, accounting for 4 866 pupils with males more likely to abscond than females,” reads the report.

The report highlighted that other contributing factors at primary level included marriage (116 pupils) and pregnancy (102 pupils), while 138 learners with special needs also dropped out, with the figures almost evenly distributed between boys and girls.

“Less common causes included religion-related issues (142), violence including bullying (61), harassment including sexual (18), expulsion (13) and other unspecified reasons (266),” reads the report.
At secondary level, dropout figures were significantly higher, with 26 704 learners leaving school, comprising 11 228 males and 15 476 females. This indicates that girls are more affected at this stage of education.

The Ministry noted that financial challenges remained the leading cause of school dropouts at secondary level, affecting 9 974 learners.

“The second most prevalent reason was absconding, responsible for 6,961 dropouts (26.07%), again more common among males (36.16%) than females (18.75%). Marriage accounted for 3 917 dropouts while pregnancy contributed to 2 433 150 dropouts,” reads the report.