Alex Trelinski
SPAIN continues to have some of the worst school drop out figures in the European Union- only beaten by Romania.
But the latest numbers from the Active Population Survey(EPA) confirm the rate among 18-year-olds and over has been steadily falling over the last decade.
The EPA showed a decrease of 0.7% in the 2023-24 academic year with an overall figure of 13% of students who have not completed their second stage of secondary education (Intermediate, Basic or Baccalaureate FP).
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In 2014, the drop out rate stood at 21.9%.
Nevertheless the percentage rate is still high with Germany just behind on 12.8%.
In contrast, Croatia has a drop out rate of just 2%, followed by Greece and Poland on 3.7% with Ireland on 4%.
The EU average stands at 9.5% with the target set by the bloc of reaching under 9% by 2030.
Education expert Ismael Sanz, said: “Early school leaving continues to be one of the greatest challenges for the educational system in Spain, due to its individual impact on the life trajectories of young people and also because of its implications for the economic, social and cultural development of the country.”
A former Education minister, Montserrat Gomedio, said: “We have kids who, when they leave school, have minimal knowledge and therefore suffer youth unemployment and, from there, endure long-term unemployment throughout their lives.”
“This is clearly the origin of our endemic problem with youth unemployment, in particular, and long-term unemployment, in general,” Gomendio added.
There are also big variations in drop out rates across Spain, with figures above 20% in the Balearic Islands, while the Basque Country is at just 5%.
The full figures from the National Institute of Statistics show the regions above the national 13% average as Melilla (26%); Balearic Islands (20.1%) Murcia (18.2%); La Rioja (17%); Andalucia (15.5%); Castilla-La Mancha (14.6%); Ceuta (14.6%); Catalunya (13.7%); Canary Islands (13.1%) and Extremadura (13%).
On the other side of the scale, below the Spanish average are the Valencian Community (12.9%); Aragon (11.9%); Galicia (10.8%); Castilla y Leon(10.8%); Community of Madrid (10.5%); Asturias (10.5%); Navarre (9.9%); Cantabria (5.5%); and the Basque Country (5%).
