Balearics has Spain's highest drop out rate

PALMA
THE Balearic Islands is the region of Spain with the highest school dropout rate, the region's Institute for Family Policy confirmed yesterday.
Central Government figures related to the 2010-2011 academic year, said the Institute's research shows that 40.8 percent of the student population of the islands do not complete their secondary school studies, let alone go on to prepare for another two years to enable them to apply for university entrance.

The Institute went on to reveal that the islands have the highest percentage of young people aged between 18 and 24 who have “dropped out” early. The students in this group, even if they do complete what is laid down by law as obligatory education, fail to go on to any further training. In a statement, the Institute for family policy explained that the number of young people leaving school early is 20 percent higher than the Spanish national average of 31.2 percent. Research also shows that the Balearics has the least number of pupils per teacher in Spain (10.6), one full decimal point below the national average.

Central Government studies, furthered the Institute, confirm that the Balearic Islands, together with the region of La Rioja, has the highest number of foreign students in public schools, 15.9 percent of the total. The figure is 6.3 percent higher than the national average of 9.6 percent.

The Institute believes that “dropping out”, whether it be from obligatory secondary school or from pre-University entrance studies, is due to a combination of factors, but one - it claims - is the fact that the present school system is highly inflexible and fails to motivate youngsters. “Abandoning school is a progressive process that has its beginnings long before the student finally decides not to continue,” the Institute claimed.