Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 19 Apr 2000

Vol. 518 No. 4

Written Answers. - Early School Leavers.

Liz McManus

Ceist:

32 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Education and Science the total percentage of pupils who currently complete second level education; and when he expects that the EU target of 90% of pupils completing second level education will be reached. [11728/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods):

The recently published ESRI-Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment 1998 Annual School Leavers' Survey indicated that about 81% of students currently complete second level education. This figure is broadly in line with my Department's own analysis of data in this area, which indicate a completion rate of some 83% when account is taken of a range of factors such as inter-school transfer and emigration.

Given the vital significance of school completion for the life chances of our young people, we must continue to press for improvement in the numbers completing second level. As the Deputy will be aware, this is a complex and difficult issue and one not amenable to quick fix or easy solutions.

It is my view that the correct approach in dealing with this issue is to advance on a number of fronts. In the first instance we must ensure that there is a proper legislative underpinning to school attendance. I see the Education (Welfare) Bill, 1999, as providing this. We must also ensure that the curriculum provided in our second level schools meets the needs of all pupils. The leaving certificate applied and the junior certificate schools programme are examples of measures which have made a real impact and we need to build further on these.

It is also essential that we assist schools in a direct and focused manner in coping with the problem of early school leaving. The recent Stay in School initiative will make a real difference here. At the core of this initiative is the concept of schools devising their own plans and being assisted to implement these. This assistance is very much a reality both in terms of advice and, most importantly, additional resources.

I do not want to understate the scale and complexity of this problem by setting absolute timescales for reaching particular levels of retention. In a buoyant economy the temptations for young people to leave school early inevitably increase and the challenge for Government is to offset this by considered and effective action.