Fundació Bofill is launching a Catalonia-wide plea to call for a plan of action to combat school drop-out

• After two decades of falling figures, early school drop-out in Catalonia has stalled at levels we cannot accept as normal.
• Last year more than 97,000 Catalan young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years dropped out of the education system without having completed their post-compulsory education: 11 per hour, 226 per day, 8,089 per month, etc. This means that enough boys and girls have dropped out of the education system to fill Barcelona football stadium or 3,200 classrooms.
• Catalonia still has the highest rates of early school drop-out (16.9%) compared to Spain (13.9%) and the European average (9.7% in 2021).
• Early school drop-out (ESD) is particularly hard hitting on the most vulnerable groups: the rate is twice as high among young people of migrant origin or from families with a low education level compared to other students.
• These new ESD statistics must constitute a turning point: unless specific and very purposeful actions are fostered, drop-out will not fall and we run the risk of the figures rising again in times of economic recovery.
• Now is the time to implement determined policies to reduce it. Getting the figures down to the European target of 10% for early school drop-out in four years is possible if the Catalan Ministry of Education works alongside local authorities, and primary and secondary schools in order to lead a Catalonia-wide initiative, in the same way as has been delivered in other countries.
• It is necessary to address the cause of school drop-out as a collective project of the utmost urgency through a plan of action incorporating measures aimed at students in a position of vulnerability: identifying students at greatest risk of dropping out; meeting the needs of these young people and their schools with grants and scholarships; providing guidance throughout their secondary schooling; offering further mentoring support; and planning and expanding the range of post-compulsory education options available.
• To do this, Fundació Bofill is promoting a campaign with a manifesto and a participatory platform to make a plea so that once and for all we can tackle school drop-out as the major educational and social challenge it poses in Catalonia.
• Through the Zero Drop-Out Platform: Challenges and Solutions, Fundació Bofill is making an appeal to local authorities and the entire education community to start a movement to encourage us as a nation to put all our best efforts into speeding up the process of virtually eradicating drop-out.

Barcelona, 6 March 2023

After decades in which the statistics of early school drop-out in Catalonia were falling substantially, the latest data released (Survey on the Active Population, January 2023) show that this decline has stagnated. In 2022 alone, it is calculated that more than 97,000 young people dropped out of the education system without having completed their post-compulsory education.

This statistic means that school drop-out is one of the biggest challenges facing the education system and it should constitute a wake-up call and a turning point, because it shows that, unless specific and highly purposeful actions are promoted, rather than falling, we run the risk of there being another increase in drop-out owing to the improving economy and job market.

Action needs to be taken now to eradicate school drop-out. Sign the manifesto now!

The financial crises and the education policies of recent years have helped to reduce drop-out. However, these are measures that fall short in drastically eradicating the problem, which rebounds in times of economic recovery. The trend can be explained as a result of hiring in low-end sectors such as construction and tourism, and it may be seen for instance in the substantial decline in the statistics for early school drop-out (ESD) during the financial crisis that occurred from 2008 onwards. Accordingly, the future of thousands of young people relies on a labour market that expels more or fewer young people from the education system depending on the economic situation, with the consequences this entails.

ESD is not a socially neutral phenomenon. Indeed, it does not affect all social groups equally: there is an intimate link between social exclusion and educational exclusion, and this link becomes very apparent in the field of ESD. Within the ESD statistics, men of low cultural and socio-economic status, of migrant origin and from ethnic minorities are over represented.

Our education system does not have the tools required to deal with this issue which holds back the futures of thousands of boys and girls every year. Dropping out of the education system early has very negative consequences. Boys and girls who do not graduate from compulsory secondary education or who do not remain in education when they complete compulsory schooling:

• Experience almost twice the level of unemployment (14.4%) as those who remain in the education system (8.6%).

• Are almost 4 times more likely to end up doing unqualified manual labour than those who stay in education (29.9% vs 6.2%).

Also:

• More than 25% of young people with a history of ESD are in the lowest salary quartile (up to €9,027.30).

• Almost 1 in every 3 of those who drop out of their education early have difficulty paying for their housing, almost double the figure when compared to young people who remain in the education system.

• Dropping out of education early has negative impacts even on health: more than 50% of young people who remain in education state that they are in good or excellent health, compared to only 32% stating this when they have a history of drop-out.

• Moreover, it is calculated that drop-out may involve a loss of up to 1% of GDP due to slower economic development, increased poverty and more social exclusion.

Related: Download the publication An urgent agenda to combat early school drop-out in Catalonia

Avoiding a disruption in education pathways among these young people must become a top priority policy for equity and equality. The goal is to reduce the rate of drop-out among young migrants and young people from families with a low education level by half (from 30% to 15%) within a period of four years. It would involve initially working with groups who are at a high risk of drop-out and then extending coverage of the measures.

Broad consensus about the need to act to eradicate school drop-out provides an opportunity to address this Catalonia-wide project together.

Reducing early school drop-out is one of the most urgent educational and social challenges we face in Catalonia. At the same time, though, the need to address it nurtures broad consensus among social agents, the education sector and parliamentary and political powers. Testament to this lies in the fact that in the previous election to the Parliament of Catalonia on 14 February 2020, all parties except PP and VOX spoke in their election manifestos about the issue and the need to promote measures to reduce school drop-out.

This broad consensus among political parties with representatives sitting in the Parliament of Catalonia is a huge news story and it provides an opportunity to address this Catalonia-wide project together to enable us to make progress in reducing the number of children who are compelled to leave their education.

A plan of action to drastically reduce early school drop-out within four years

Fundació Bofill is calling for the culmination of this political and social consensus by promoting a plan of action to combat school drop-out so that within a single term of office Catalonia can beat the European target of 10% for school drop-out.

To do this, Fundació Bofill has launched a social campaign and a manifesto to make a plea so that once and for all we can tackle school drop-out as the major educational and social challenge it poses in Catalonia, affecting thousands of young people every year.

The campaign seeks to raise awareness of the proportion of boys and girls who drop out of their education every year: 11 young people per hour, 226 per day, 8,089 per month. Indeed, it issues a plea for immediate action to eradicate school drop-out, seeking to appeal to society as a whole with a manifesto that can be signed by individuals and organisations. Fundació Bofill has also worked in recent months on a broad movement via a platform of challenges and solutions which has already benefitted from the involvement of more than 250 individuals from organisations, councils and bodies throughout Catalonia willing to combat school drop-out.

Authorities, schools and organisations play a vital role in defeating drop-out. The urgent agenda to combat early school drop-out in Catalonia, published by Fundació Bofill, proposes a series of measures and resources to prevent, intervene in and make up for the disruption of education pathways. They especially involve the Catalan Ministry of Education, the local communities, and primary and secondary schools.

It is a host of specific quantified, realistic measures which will make it possible to reduce the risk of students dropping out of their education – according to national and international research – and guarantee that students stay in the education system and continue their studies at least until they complete post-compulsory education.

Related: Download the publication An urgent agenda to combat early school drop-out in Catalonia

This means identifying the boys and girls who are at the greatest risk of dropping out of their education early, meeting their specific needs to ensure the lack of financial means is not a barrier to remaining in education, providing support and guidance, and guaranteeing there is a sufficient, well-planned range of post-compulsory education options available to ensure no one is left behind.

For further information:

• Download the full press dossier
• Download the manifesto
• Find out about the campaign and sign the manifesto!
• Download the publication An urgent agenda to combat early school drop-out in Catalonia
• See the infographic What are the consequences of dropping out of education?

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