The number of youngsters leaving secondary school or mbo college with no qualifications has fallen again, education minister Jet Bussemaker said on Monday.

Last year, 24,451 people left school without any papers, a drop of 1,200 on the previous academic year. In 2002, when the drop-out rate became the focus of special government attention, 71,000 pupils left school with no qualifications.

Teenagers have to attend school or mbo college in the Netherlands until they reach 18.

Bussemaker said she wants to reduce the drop-out rate to a maximum 20,000 by 2021. ‘Every pupil leaving school with no diploma is one too many,’ she said. ‘Without qualifications, you have less chance of a job and are more likely to get into trouble with the law.’