From $20K In Unpaid School Fees To Complicated Family Backgrounds, These Gen Zs Open Up About Why They Dropped Out Of School

Dropping out of school isn't just simply a matter of not wanting to study anymore. More often than not, the reasons someone ends up outside mainstream education can be a lot more complicated, where leaving school isn't a choice.

In Mediacorp's Gen Z Crash Course, three youths opened up about why they dropped out of school, and how they turned their lives around after.

On the first day of Secondary 4, Nabeel was determined to turn over a new leaf.

He even told his younger brother that morning: "You know, today is the first day of school, I'm going to be the best there. I'm going to start attending more, make my mum proud."

Instead, he found out that day that he could no longer attend school because his family owed the school around S$20K in unpaid fees — S$11K for him and S$9K for his younger brother.

Nabeel, who holds a Malaysian passport but was born in Singapore and had studied here his whole life, said: "Because I'm not a Singaporean, my school fees were always higher than usual. So the school said we can't come into school unless we pay off."

Nabeel subsequently moved to Johor Bahru, where he spent an entire year out of school, which took a lot of getting used to.

"Like, I was really unproductive, you know? I just play games, eat, go back to sleep. You know, I was really isolated, and I wasn't familiar with everywhere I was," he recalled.

The year of isolation took its toll.

"Before this, I was always so outgoing, and I could speak to people really well. But ever since isolating myself, I didn't really talk to people in public. Like, I couldn't ask where the toilet was, I couldn't ask how much this was, I was even scared to go and order food, you know?" he said.

Despite everything, Nabeel says he isn't angry with his parents. 

"Honestly, they were already working hard enough, and just because they couldn't pay for my school fees doesn't mean I get the right to be angry at them," he said.

Nabeel eventually stumbled upon an episode of CNA documentary series Shutdown about Project Starfish, an academic coaching programme which prepares out-of-school youths aged 16 to 21 to sit for their N-Levels as private candidates.

The thumbnail caught his attention for a very obvious reason.  

"The thumbnail said 'dropouts'. I was thinking to myself, 'Wait, I'm a dropout,'" he recalled.

He found the programme's email address in the description and managed to secure an interview.

Now, Nabeel travels from JB to Singapore every Monday to attend classes.

"And now I'm here every week. Honestly, it's the best part of my week. I wish I was here more days," he said.

Getting accepted into the programme also gave Nabeel the push he needed to start rebuilding his life.

"So once I knew that I secured a spot, I told myself that I should do better. And instead of making myself feel so helpless, I started to do things that I enjoyed. I started cooking, I started going to the gym, and I tried my best to put myself out there again,” he said. 

"And honestly, I feel like it's the best thing that I've done for myself this year, as I'm not so hopeless anymore. And I feel great going outside, and I feel good talking to people, and I feel happy to be awake now,” Nabeel added.

Nabeel hopes to complete his N-Levels, move on to O-Levels and eventually enter polytechnic to explore his passion for culinary arts.

Sofiyah, 21, left school in Secondary 3 six years ago.

"My mum was quite... my mum is abusive, okay. And I had to work, so I decided to drop out to prioritise my financial situation, my home situation, my mental situation," she said.

The financial situation at home could be unpredictable too.

"Living with my mom means like a lot of like sudden financial issues. Like, I would suddenly... she's suddenly in debt or whatever, and then I would have to help to cover," Sofiyah explained.

At one point, even charging her phone wasn't easy.

"Then for like charging my phone or whatever, I would go on a bus, like those buses that give electricity now. I would like to take like a lot of trips a day," she recalled. "I would spend a lot of my time in the library, outside, wherever I could charge my phone."

Fast forward to today, and life looks rather different for Sofiyah.

She now has a close group of friends and a boyfriend, Jasper, who have become the support network she didn't have during her school years.

"Back then, like in school, I didn't have anyone and I didn't have many friends. And like, now I have my friends, and my boyfriend, the people I choose. This is like my chosen family," she said.

Being surrounded by motivated people also encouraged her to return to her studies.

"I would say a big part of it, a lot of my friends do work in music, and I would say like being around a lot of people who had a lot of motivations made me want to go back to school even more," she explained.

Now, six years after leaving secondary school, Sofiyah is working towards her N-Levels.

"For me right now, it's N-Levels, and then if I can get housing, in an ideal world, poly and then uni. I would like to be a research librarian," she said.

She has this advice for other school dropouts: "You can reach out, but don't forget to take your time. Surround yourself with supportive people, good people, people that are good for you.”

Joseph's reason for leaving mainstream school was also different.

"I felt that secondary school was a bit tough for me, as it was always very overstimulating. I could not follow with the school system," he said.

"I didn't really have much friends, as I was not very social with the people around my age group in school," he added.

Eventually, Joseph spoke to his school counsellor and teachers he was close to.

"I told them that I wanted to leave school as it was really, really not for me," Joseph shared.

Adding to his frustration, Joseph had been retained for another two years in Secondary 2.

After leaving school, Joseph started helping out at his father's renovation company.

And if you're imagining leaving school meant an easier life, apparently not.

"To be frank, it's very, very hard work. The hours are very long," he said.

Outside work and studying, Joseph goes to the gym five to six days a week, spending three to four hours there each time.

"Mentally, it really, really helped me out in terms of my mental health, my discipline. I really think it takes a lot of discipline to come here," he said.

Despite deciding mainstream secondary school wasn't for him, Joseph hasn't given up on education.

"Right now, my next goal is to get my O-Levels after my N-Levels," he said.

After that, Joseph hopes to pursue a private diploma, either in construction or business.

And he has something to say to those who believe school is the only route to success.

"School is not for everybody, and those in school shouldn't look down on people who have dropped out or anything," he said.

"[Dropping out of school is] nothing to be proud of, but I feel that you can also make it as a dropout."