New plan to fight high school drop-out rate

(MH) After seeing high school drop-out rates increase over the past few years, the Luxembourg Education Ministry has introduced a six-step plan to tackle the issue.

“Staying on Track“- such is the title of the newest nation-wide strategy to decrease the rate of high school drop-outs. With a total of 1,700 students quitting high school every year, authorities hope to achieve their goal of fewer drop-outs through six steps.

A conference (“Bildungssommet“) will take place in August that will allow teachers and other members of the education system to actively participate in a discussion and try to come up with solutions for the high fail-rate.

As part of the plan, new projects will be launched with the aim to support and help students struggling with coursework and other problems.

The ALJ (“l'Action locale pour Jeunes“) will work more closely with drop-outs and offer them guidance, while new help centres will open across the country to give advice to both students and parents.

Another step of the plan is the development of a so-called “whole school approach“ which supports overall student learning in a holistic manner by focusing on the students' needs.

The plan also encourages parents to be more involved in the education system as a better communication between schools and parents could be favourable for students who are thinking of quitting school.

With the term drop-out, authorities do not only speak of school quitters, but also address those students that have since re-enrolled in another school, either in Luxembourg or abroad.

Some of the main causes for dropping out are repeated failures, struggles to get an apprenticeship and personal problems.

A total 11,6 percent of students quit school in 2012/13, while only 9,2 percent dropped out in the previous year.

According to statistics, boys are more likely to drop out of school, representing 56,4 percent of the total rate while girls represent the remaining 43,6 percent.

For more information, visit men.public.lu