Household perspectives on school attendance in rural Tibet

Abstract

This study explores household perspectives on school access at the village level in rural Tibet. Data from two rural areas are compared. This paper argues that despite abolition of all school fees, the use of Tibetan as a medium of instruction, the provision of boarding schools, and other incentives, dropout rates in rural areas remain high. This is largely due to the opportunity costs associated with removing a child from the household labor force. Beyond acquiring basic literacy, rural households seem less willing to make the sacrifices involved without receiving direct economic return through access to nonfarm labor jobs after graduation. Nevertheless, there are other factors at work. Moreover, villages in different parts of Tibet are far from homogeneous with respect to the factors that affect school attendance.