In recent days, new data on the number of early school leaving in Spain. It is convenient to start from what is understood by school dropout; from the European Union it is defined as the percentage of young people who have dropped out of school between the ages of 18 and 24 without having achieved a degree beyond ESO. In other words, they drop out of school without having graduated from intermediate or high school vocational training and do not follow any other training.
But early school leaving implies that a significant percentage of those young people who do not have this degree have dropped out even before completing ESO, which as soon as they turn 16 they leave high school, in many cases, never to return. What begins as an educational problem becomes a labor and social problem. In fact, the latest official data from the Ministry of Education and FP indicate that, of the rate of 16% in 2020, 10% had achieved the title of ESO and 6% had not. Differences also exist between girls and boys, being abandonment among these 72% higher.
In a second reading of the school dropout figures, it is necessary to say that there is a great historical difference between the data of the different Autonomous Communities, as there is between the countries of the European Union. Hence, one of the recommendations of the EU was to reduce the rate of early school leaving in the year 2020 to 10%, a rate that is intended to be left at 9% on average among the countries of the European Union in 2030.
If we take the last decade as a reference, In 2011, Spain doubled the dropout rate, with 26.3%, compared to Europe. A decade later we have managed to reduce the rate by 50% and 2021 ends with the largest decrease in Spain, a reduction of 3 points compared to the year 2020. Spain has dramatically decreased this rate compared to a moderate decrease in the European Union, which is at the 10% target. Obviously we have come together thanks to the implementation of important educational measures and this is great news because its effect is to provide youth with more opportunities and more options for their future.
As important data we must say that this European confluence is also being visualized internally in Spain, where fortunately the differences in the abandonment rate are also reducing. In 2011 the difference was up to almost 20 points between autonomous communities, while in 2021 the data indicates that there is greater homogeneity in the dropout rate and that the differences have been reduced by almost 10 points, except in two where the difference is slightly larger. It is also significant that more and more autonomous communities are in the European average.
Why was there so much difference between communities when the educational law is the same for all of them? It is a complex problem with a difficult diagnosis, which must take into account the differences between Autonomous Communities, the existing economic, social, cultural and labor inequality. But perhaps, and according to experts, the factor that has had the most influence until this year was thea job offer to unskilled young peoplewhich encouraged them to start working and drop out of school.
Undoubtedly, for the existence of school dropout educational factors also influence: demotivation, school failure, learning difficulties, excessive repetition, the influence of groups of friends, the lack of flexibility in our educational system, an unstimulating curriculum, etc.
The family background and social class they also play an important role in this process, which does not happen overnight. Some families do not intervene or take measures in time, in some cases they have not known or been able to motivate their children. On other occasions, there has not been sufficient coordination with educational centers, and in other cases families need their children to work to provide income.
In a society in which access to the labor market is increasingly conditioned by having a minimum of qualifications and professional skills, reducing the school dropout rate is a guarantee, at least, of having employment options in the future and therefore options to enjoy full social inclusion.
That is why it is great news that the school dropout rate in Spain is already close to the European Union average. But there is another magnificent piece of news that reveals the change in trend in Spain. For the first time, the dropout rate is reduced while youth employment is created and unemployment is reduced (10 points in a year) in those under 25 years of age.
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These data are very significant because they indicate that the programs for reducing the dropout rate within the education system work, that the gradual relaxation of the education system manages to reach those young people who had a tendency to drop out of school, that the rise in more than 600 million euros earmarked for scholarships and to guarantee equity in the educational system works, that the effort to create 200,000 new vocational training places by the Government of Spain works and that thehe policies promoted by this Government to reduce territorial and social inequalities work.
In the background I am left with another reflection. Socially, the value that education and training contribute to the future is increased. This is the key to the success of some European education systems. Those who consider education a State priority, who are proud of their education, who enjoy prestige and support among society, triumph. Let’s follow that trail and we will see how our results and indicators continue on the path of improvement.