Almost five percent of students dropped out of secondary vocational schools during the last school year, while slightly more than three percent of them did not return to the education system, according to data from the Center for Vocational Education (CSO).
According to data from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, there were 17.904 students in secondary vocational schools, of which 14.074 attended four-year educational profiles, while 3.830 attended three-year vocational profiles.
"Compared to the percentage set by the European Strategy (2020) of 10 percent, the percentage of secondary education dropouts in our country is still low, but the growing trend certainly indicates that student dropout requires our greater attention, prevention and intervention," the VET center emphasized.
During their education, 846 students dropped out of school, which represents 4,73 percent of the total number, the VSO told "Vijesti". 547 students did not return to the education system, which makes up 3,06 percent.
"The analysis of the number of students who dropped out of education in the period from the 2020/21 to 2023/24 school year shows a growing trend in students dropping out of secondary schools. The reasons for dropping out of education, according to the data available from the MEIS portal, are various, and the most common are exclusion from the education system, i.e. termination of the status of a regular student due to a large number of unjustified absences, arbitrary student withdrawal, withdrawal at the request of parents, moving abroad, death of a student, marriage and employment," the VET Center specified.
According to data from that educational institution, in the 2020/21 school year, the number of students who dropped out of secondary vocational education was 536, and the same number was recorded during 2021/22.
"In the 2022/23 school year, there were 798 students, while in the 2023/24 school year, this number was 846. The percentages range from 2,89% to 4,73% of the total number of students who attended secondary vocational education in the aforementioned period. If we look at students who did not return to the education system, their number in the 2020/21 school year was 402 (2,17%), then 456 students (2,66%) in 2022/23, and in 2023/24, this number increased to 547 students (3,06%)," they stated.
The most marginalized groups of children drop out
When it comes to children with special educational needs, the percentage of their dropping out of secondary vocational education is, according to data from the MEIS system, from 4,09 percent during the 2021/22 school year, to 5,21 in 2023/24.
According to data from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, there were 457 students with special educational needs in secondary vocational schools last year.
"The mechanism that exists and is applied in schools for students with special educational needs, who are attending the final year of vocational education, is the Individual Transition Plan 2 (ITP2), which connects the student with the services of the Employment Service during their education in order to prepare both them and the potential employer for the employment process," the VET center states.
"The dropout rate of children from socially vulnerable families and without parental care is successively for the three mentioned school years: 4,88, 4,48 and 3,97 percent. The dropout rate of children from the Roma and Egyptian population is significantly higher in recent years and for the mentioned years is 19,42, 18,5 and 18,23 percent," the VET center warns.
They note that the methodology for developing educational programs in vocational education is designed, among other things, in a way that is adaptable to children from marginalized groups who, for various reasons, cannot complete the educational program in its entirety.
"Educational programs are based on a minimum of two, and in most cases on multiple, professional qualifications of the same or different levels, so that a student who leaves education before the end of the educational program still has the right to a document that validates their education and the skills they have acquired and with which they can seek employment in the profession in which they were educated," explained the VET center.
Schools to get active
When asked whether the VET center has mechanisms through which the growing trend of dropping out of secondary vocational education can be prevented, the institution said that the MEIS system has enabled schools to precisely monitor the situation in terms of the number of students at risk of early school leaving - the number of absences and insufficient grades.
"...But also to act preventively and prevent a certain number of students from dropping out of school. In this way, the school successfully targets students who are potential 'dropouts' and takes timely measures to conduct individual counseling for students and parents and create a plan to reduce the number of students who drop out of secondary vocational education," they specified.
They point out that the Action Plan of the Comprehensive Education Reform Strategy plans to improve the student monitoring system and a series of activities that will be implemented in schools with the aim of preventing student dropout.
"Given that the Vocational Education Center has been analyzing student dropout for years, our constant recommendations are aimed at improving the quality of education - the quality of teaching, the quality of educational programs, so that students are offered modern knowledge in a modern way, adapted to current generations and their needs and learning style," the VET Center emphasizes.
They state that it is necessary to offer students various extracurricular and leisure activities, to set clear goals and requirements for them that will provide them with the opportunity and motivation to progress personally and professionally.
They say it is necessary to improve the system and program of career orientation in elementary schools so that students can choose in a timely manner the professions and programs for which they have affinities and abilities and in which they will be successful.
"The work of advisory or professional services in schools in this field also needs to be improved, better connected with employers with the aim of better employment as a measure of encouragement and motivation for students to remain in the education system. Working with parents is important as early as possible in the education of children, because parents' attitudes towards education greatly influence the child's success and stay in the education system. It is also important to emphasize that secondary vocational education, or education in general, is a system that functions in the context of other social systems, so the problem of preventing student 'dropouts' also requires a multidisciplinary and broader approach," they concluded.
Boys are more likely to drop out of school and not return.
According to VET analysis, the number of boys dropping out of education is significantly higher than girls, with almost three times as many boys dropping out of the system.
"This number has increased drastically in the 2023/24 school year compared to previous years, while the situation with girls is stable compared to the previous period. The number of boys who do not return to the education system after leaving school is also higher. When it comes to educational programs, students in three-year programs (level III) drop out of school in greater numbers than those in four-year programs (level IV). The largest number of students drop out of school in the first grade, while the smallest number of those who drop out are in the fourth grade, with the majority of students who drop out, especially in the lower grades, not continuing their education," the institution said. The trend of students dropping out of the system becomes more pronounced in the first, second and third grades.
"While the fourth grade records a stable level of dropout without major changes. This indicates the need for more focused support measures in the early stages of secondary education to reduce the dropout rate," the VET center emphasized.
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