Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 12 Mar 1991

Vol. 406 No. 3

Written Answers. - Post-Primary School Leavers.

Jim Higgins

Ceist:

268 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Education the number of students in (a) vocational schools, (b) secondary schools and (c) community schools/ colleges and comprehensive schools who dropped out from school between intermediate and leaving certificates in each of the years between 1986 and 1990.

Minister for Education (Mrs. O'Rourke)

Data on leavers from post-primary schools are not collected by my Department. I have provided, however, in the following statistical table estimates of the number of pupils who left school at the conclusion of the junior cycle course in the years indicated, i.e. those who did not proceed to the leaving certificate or to vocational preparation and training courses.

Estimated Number of Pupils who left Post-Primary School at the conclusion of Junior Cycle in the years indicated*

	Secondary	Vocational†	Community and Comprehensive	Total
1985-86	615	1,371	1,201	3,187
1986-87	1,686	986	999	3,671
1987-88	2,011	1,863	766	4,640
1988-89	1,134	1,199	901	3,234

*Corresponding data are not yet available in respect of the 1989-90 academic year.

†For statistical purposes, community colleges are treated as vocational schools.

Note: The reliability of estimates given in respect of individual sectors may be affected by flows of pupils across sectors, e.g., where a pupil completes the third year of junior cycle in a vocational school and then transfers to a secondary school for the first year of the leaving certificate course.