Madam, – I would suggest that if the drop-out rates are to reduce, then Leaving Certificate students should be required to focus on fewer subjects. At present science and maths students have to devote time to “compulsory” subjects such as English and maths, which reduces the amount of time to focus in depth on the subjects the student is good at.
Perhaps if “compulsory” subjects ceased at Junior Certificate, it would allow a Leaving Certificate student to study their best subject in depth, and an improvement would then be seen at university level. – Yours, etc,