School drop-out rate halved in 10 years

Tuesday 21 August 2012

The number of teenagers leaving school without any qualifications has fallen by almost 50% over the past few years, according to new education ministry figures.

Last year, some 38,600 pupils left school without a diploma, compared with 71,000 ten years ago.

The drop is particularly noticeable among young people with an ethnic minority background, the figures show. The number of boys with a minority background leaving school without qualifications fell from 3.7% to 2.2%. For girls the reduction was from 2.7% to 1.5%.

The government’s target is to reduce the number of school drop-outs to 25,000 by 2016.

© DutchNews.nl