Cecilia Keaveney
Question:165 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Education the number of early school leavers per county in each of the years from 1990 to 1996; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2861/97]
Written Answers. - Early School Leaving.
School attendance committees are responsible for the enforcement of the School Attendance Act in certain parts of Dublin, and in Cork and Waterford. In all other areas the Garda Síochána have responsibility. Consequently, figures for rates of early school leaving by county are not available to my Department. The White Paper, Charting our Education Future, proposes that responsibility for monitoring of school attendance will fall within the remit of the education boards when they are established.
At national level, the information available from the ESRI Annual School Leavers' Surveys is as follows:
|
Year of Survey |
Leavers in school year |
Leavers with no qualifications |
Leaver with Group Cert/Junior cycle, but no Leaving Cert |
All leavers |
|
1990 |
88/89 |
4,600 6.8% |
12,800 19% |
67,300 |
|
1991 |
89/90 |
3,600 5.4% |
11,500 17.2% |
67,000 |
|
1992 |
90/91 |
5,200 7.8% |
11,700 17.5% |
66,900 |
|
1993 |
91/92 |
3,400 5.2% |
9,700 15% |
64,800 |
|
1994 |
92/93 |
3,300 4.9% |
10,700 15.8% |
67,500 |
|
1995 |
93/94 |
2,200 3.3% |
10,000 14.8% |
67,500 |
The analysis of the 1996 Survey has not yet been completed.
It is a fundamental objective in the White Paper, Charting our Education Future, that the rate of retention in school to completion of senior cycle should increase to 90 per cent by the end of the decade. Progress in the achievement of this target is being made, and rates of retention have increased from 70 per cent in 1986 to 82 per cent in 1993-94.