Author's Name:	Sikulile Moyo, Dr.Dingindawo Ncube & Musa Khupe
Subject Area:	Social Science and Humanities
Subject	Education
Section	Research Paper

factors, drop outs, dropout rates and secondary school pupils

The study sought to assess factors contributing to high secondary school pupils dropouts in Bulilima District in Zimbabwe. Bulilima District has for a long time been experiencing high dropout rates amongst secondary school pupils due to a number of factors which needed exploration in order solve the problem. The study used a case study design and a qualitative method with individual and group interviews (focus group discussions) as data collection techniques. The study participants included teachers, heads of schools and members of the community who included both adults and the youths, selected through the purposive convenience sampling technique. The study was anchored on the human capital theory which advocates for investing in human capital through education that in turn is expected to stimulate socio-economic development of a country. The findings are absentee parents, financial hardships, hunger and poverty, home school distance, teenage pregnancies and peer pressure .The study recommends that the government of Zimbabwe subsidises examination fees, implements ‘free primary education for all’ in line with the constitution of Zimbabwe. Furthermore the government of Zimbabwe in collaboration with key stakeholders builds more secondary schools in Bulilima district. Finally more research be done on the problem of secondary school pupils drop out in order to bring more insight on this problem bedeviling Bulilima district.