The Impact of Poverty on Academic Achievement: A Study on the Students of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume V, Issue VIII, August 2018 | ISSN 2321–2705

The Impact of Poverty on Academic Achievement: A Study on the Students of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur

Md. Anamul Haque¹, Dr. Md. Roshidul Islam²

 ¹Research Student, Department of Statistics, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Bangladesh
²Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Bangladesh

Abstract— This study investigates the perceptions of students of the effects of poverty on academic achievement in Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur. It attempted to investigate what happens to a student’s performance at University when he/she comes from a poor family background. Data was collected from the students of Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur area that the researcher had selected. In this study qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data was collected through questionnaires. The chi square method and the logistic regression are used to find the results of the study. The research findings proved that poverty has negative effects on poor students’ academic achievement. Tuition, scholarship and parent’s education level also affect the students’ academic achievement.

Keywords—Poverty, Education, Scholarship, Tuition, Logistic regression

I. INTRODUCTION

Poverty in Bangladesh have declined remarkably since the early-2000s, as result decades of accelerated economic growth. The remarkable progress in poverty alleviation has been recognized by international institutions[1]. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh’s poverty rate fell from 82% in 1972, to 18.5% in 2010, to 13.8% in 2016, as measured by the percentage of people living below the international extreme poverty line[2].

A Child that goes to school on an empty stomach will not concentrate well at school resulting in poor academic achievement. Poverty comes along with its associated multitude of difficulties to children and their families. Poverty-stricken families cannot provide basic needs like food, clothing, shelter and sufficient light[14]. The lack of these basic needs due to poverty may restrict the expression of genetic talent to learners and leads to under-achievement. Their thinking ability and intellectual capacity is affected due to unbalanced diet or no food at all[15]. According to May (2000:33), a child who experiences poverty is exposed to the risk of impaired physical and mental development.

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