Absenteeism, Dropout, and On-Time School Completion of Vulnerable Primary School Students in Ethiopia: Exploring the Role of Adolescent Decision-Making Power in the Household, Exposure to Violence, and Paid and Unpaid Work

While Ethiopia has seen a rapid expansion of school enrollment over the past 25 years, especially in primary education, dropout, absenteeism, and grade repetition remain key challenges to achieving the education-related Sustainable Development Goals. This article uses the 2017/18 Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) survey of 6800 Ethiopian adolescents and regression analysis to examine how exposure to and /or experience of violence (from peers and at home), adolescent decision-making power in the household, and paid and unpaid child work are related to absenteeism, dropout, and on-time completion in primary school. The findings provide empirical evidence on the positive association between adolescent decision-making power in the household and educational outcomes and the negative relationships between adolescent education and both exposure to and /or experience of violence and paid and unpaid child work. We explore variations in the magnitude and robustness of these associations across gender, age cohort, and rural/urban residential location. Our findings suggest that programs which enhance decision-making power of adolescents in the household reduce exposure to and/or experience of violence among peers and at home and reduce participation in paid and unpaid child work which can improve adolescent educational attainment.