Gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools has nearly halved since 2001. Ireland 2nd in EU28 for percentage of people aged 20-24 with at least upper-secondary education

Minister Bruton will today publish a report by the Department of Education and Skills on school retention in Ireland which show that Ireland’s Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate school completion rates are among the highest in Europe.

The results of the analysis show particularly significant improvements in retention rates in schools in the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) scheme. The gap in retention rates to Leaving Certificate between DEIS and non-DEIS schools continues to narrow, halving from 16.8% for the 2001 cohort to 8.5% for the 2010 cohort.

Early leavers from education and training overall is at 6.3%, this is down by over 40% from 10.8% in 2011, improving Ireland’s ranking in this measure by 7 places to 7th in Europe overtaking Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, and significantly lower than the EU-28 average of 10.7%.

The percentage of 20-24 year olds in Ireland whose highest level of education is at least upper secondary level education is the 2nd best in Europe at 94%.

Welcoming the results Minister Bruton said: “I am very encouraged by these results, particularly by those relating to DEIS schools. I have made breaking down cycles of disadvantage a key priority of mine as Minister as part of my overall ambition to make Ireland’s education system the best in Europe within a decade. These results suggest our policies are working. The gap in retention rates to the Leaving Certificate between DEIS and non-DEIS continues to narrow, almost halving from 15.8% for the 2001 cohort to 8.5% for the 2010 cohort. We expanded the DEIS scheme earlier this year and will continue working towards eliminating this gap.

“I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the role that school leaders, teachers and parents have played in encouraging students to continue in secondary education. Across Europe the average number of adults aged 20-24 who have completed upper secondary education is 83.1%. We are significantly ahead of that figure at 93.6%, placing Ireland 2nd highest across the 28 EU member states.”

It should be noted that the report references the most recent data from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) by the CSO for European comparative statistics on educational attainment and on early leavers from education and training.

Source: Education.ie

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