Full Library

This rapid scoping study has been conducted by EdTech Hub and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat through the ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls Education (ASEAN-UK SAGE) programme. Through the ASEAN-UK SAGE programme, secondary research has been conducted on the current situation of out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) in Southeast Asia by Dabrowski et al. (2024) and Barnes et al. (2024). Building on these efforts, this study provides an updated and nuanced overview of the reasons for children and youth in the region being out of school and the policies and programmes that support them. The study used new primary data generated by surveys with education actors and interviews with OOSCY, their caregivers, and teachers, combined with a review of existing documentation. It is important to note that this study is deliberately high level, as it seeks to provide a snapshot of the OOSCY situation in the region as a whole. The findings should therefore be considered indicative rather than comprehensive, and deeper, country-specific profiling, analyses and targeted recommendations will be provided through forthcoming country case studies and thematic papers.