Number of early school leavers unchanged - report

The Government is not meeting its targets in reducing the number of early school leavers, a new report claims.

The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) report says the number of early school leavers has remained unchanged since 1997.

In 1999, almost 13,000 students left school before Leaving Cert and that nearly 3,500 pupils leave school annually without any qualifications.

The report claims the marginalisation of those leaving school without qualifications is also increasing.

The report says the number of students remaining in school until the Leaving Cert remains at around 82 per cent of all school-goers. It found that almost two-thirds of those doing the Leaving Cert had part-time jobs.