Evaluation of Student Dropout Rate in Alternative Higher Education Sector of Sri Lanka: A Case Study

Abstract

The main objectives of this study were to assess the average student dropout rate of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE) and its regional centers by analyzing five years of data on student intake and convocation relevant to 14 Higher National Diploma (HND) programmes in 19 centers. Student recruitment and convocation data were collected and the total population of the students were considered in calculating the dropout rate. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. One sample t-test, ANOVA and descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. The mean population dropout rate was compared with the sample dropout rate of each HND programme. The significance of the sample pass rate and the dropout rate was compared with the population pass rate and dropout rate to identify the significance level at p= 0.05 level. Findings revealed that Civil and Electrical Engineering programmes have the lowest (< 27%) student dropout rate and the Quantity Surveying programme showed the second lowest (29%) student dropout rate. Agriculture, Food Technology, Business Administration, Business Finance, Mechanical Engineering, English and Accountancy programmes showed a <50% dropout rate. The average student dropout rate of SLIATE was 48%. Out of 19 centers, the Colombo center showed the lowest student dropout rate (35%) whereas Tangalle and Batticaloa centers showed the highest student dropout rate (65%). It is recommended to identify the reasons for student dropout to develop strategies to minimize student dropout.

Keywords

• student dropout rate
• student pass rate
• performance level