EU sees slow progress in lowering school drop-out rates

The report: “Education and Training in a smart sustainable and inclusive Europe”, published at the end of December 2011 by the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, has found that EU Member States are making slow progress towards achieving the European 2020 target to reduce early school leaving rates to below 10%.From 2009 to 2010 there was a minimal improvement of .3%, with school drop out rates averaging at 14.1%. Significant differences were noted however between Member States with Malta, Portugal and Spain having the highest early school leaving figures and Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia having the lowest.

In 2010, 53% of early school leavers were unemployed. It is therefore critical that Europe achieves the set target. The report calls for all Member States to adopt targeted measures to reach young people at risk of dropping out.

The report also noted the importance of high-quality Vocational Education and Training that is tailored to the needs of young people to reduce early school leaving. Lifelong learning strategies were acknowledged as being an effective tool in allowing young unemployed and low-skilled adults to access the labour market.