A study into the very high levels of early school-leaving on the Inishowen Peninsula in Co Donegal has found the main barriers to children staying on in education are the cost, the lure of earning a wage and a lack of interest among pupils and parents.
The report found that Inishowen, with its high dependence on the textile industry, has the highest percentage of early school-leavers in the State outside Dublin. Among the adult population, 59.1 per cent left school at 15 years or younger, while the average in the State is 36.1 per cent.
Inishowen, with a population of about 30,000, was also found to be one of the most disadvantaged rural areas in Ireland. Unemployment is around 25 per cent and the area suffers from acute geographical isolation. It is practically cut off from the rest of the Republic by the Border.
The study "Early School-Leaving in Inishowen" was commissioned by the Inishowen Partnership Company and published earlier this week. Ms Mary McIntyre, the education co-ordinator with the partnership company, said the gap between the figures for Inishowen and the State as a whole had narrowed among recent school-leavers, but it was still a major concern.
In recent years between 150 and 200 young people have been leaving school early. Most of these are boys.
A number of innovative projects have now been set up with the support of the company to tackle the problem.
Inishowen has traditionally relied heavily on the textile industry, and the downturn in the sector, with the announcement of 800 lay-offs at Fruit of the Loom plants at the end of last year, means people cannot rely on these jobs anymore. As a result, qualifications will be even more crucial.
The strong link between unemployment and a lack of qualifications is well documented. The report recommends that employers be encouraged to take a more responsible approach by not offering full-time employment to those under 16.
It is feared that the very high rates of early school-leaving among the adult population are likely to have an effect on the next generation, as it is found that the experience of parents is a factor in determining how long children stay in school. Ms McIntyre said the aim was to identify where the problem started and to stop this transfer to the next generation.
The report recommends a number of measures which would require increased funding from Government such as the provision of more remedial teachers, student counsellors and better support services generally. Other recommendations include raising the school-leaving age to 16, a measure the Government has now pledged to do, and the provision of better career guidance and educational psychology services.
The study, carried out by Muintearas in Co Galway, also recommends that an effective structure to combat absenteeism be established. Ms McIntyre said it was generally found that pupils who do not attend school regularly are the ones most likely to leave early. Education professionals should be given the specific job of dealing with these families, she said.
Rural schools also needed more support as the level of funding going to Dublin schools was disproportionate to the degree of educational disadvantage in the capital.
A number of projects have been set up over the past year with the help of the partnership company aimed at tackling the problem.
One of the difficulties identified was that some pupils transferring from small, two- or three-teacher primary schools found it a daunting experience going into larger secondary schools. The largest community school in the State, with 1,700 pupils, is located in Carndonagh. A pilot project is now running in which fourth-year students in the secondary school pair off with sixth-class pupils and shadow them when they arrive in first year.
The three secondary schools on the peninsula have also been given assistance to set up a homeschool liaison service. Ms McIntyre said the community school in Cardonagh was using this assistance to help the parents of children with literacy difficulties. Another pilot project is running with the co-operation of the Western Education and Library Board in Northern Ireland, which is providing free training for a remedial teacher in the "Reading Recovery" programme. This was developed in New Zealand as a way of helping the weakest children in a class.
Four small rural primary schools have also been selected for a project funded by the EU's Peace and Reconciliation Fund. Sixth-class pupils from the schools are brought together for special courses in information technology, drama, arts and outdoor pursuits and are helped make the transition to secondary school.
Ms McIntyre said it was very important to reach the children as this stage because if they fell behind at second level, it was very difficult to catch up.