The Council adopted a recommendation on
policies to reduce early school leaving which seeks to promote progress
towards the Europe 2020 headline target of reducing school dropout rates to
less than 10% by 2020 (as compared with 14.4% in 2009). Reducing early
school leaving addresses the Europe 2020 aims of both 'smart growth' - by
improving education and training levels - and 'inclusive growth' - by
tackling one of the major risk factors for unemployment, poverty and social
exclusion.
The Council recommends that Member States:
- identify the main factors leading to early school
leaving and monitor the characteristics of the phenomenon at national,
regional and local level as the foundation for targeted and effective
evidence-based policies;
- ensure that comprehensive strategies on early school
leaving are in place by the end of 2012, and that they are
implemented in line with national priorities and the Europe 2020
objectives. Comprehensive strategies are taken to include prevention
measures, intervention measures and compensation measures, the
latter being aimed at re-engaging people who have dropped out of
education;
- ensure that those strategies include appropriate
measures for groups at increased risk of early school leaving in
the Member State, such as children with a socio-economically
disadvantaged, migrant or Roma background, or with special educational
needs;
- ensure that those strategies address in a coherent
manner both general education and vocational education and training, and
the challenges specific to each;
- integrate measures which support the
reduction of early school leaving rates in relevant policies targeted at
children and young people, and coordinate activities among different policy
sectors;
- whilst acknowledging the key role played by teachers,
school leaders and other educational staff, ensure the involvement in
those measures and activities of all relevant stakeholders to help
people who are at risk of early school leaving, including those who have
dropped out already.
It invites the Commission:
- to contribute to the efforts made by Member States by
monitoring developments at different education levels across Member
States in order to identify trends;
- to support Member States' strategies through the
exchange of experience and good practice, and to facilitate
effective peer-learning, networking and experimentation with innovative
approaches among the Member States on measures aimed at reducing early
school leaving and improving the educational outcomes of children from
groups at risk of early school leaving;
- to integrate measures which support the reduction of
early school leaving rates in all relevant Union actions targeted at
children and young adults;
- to support the development of effective policies against
early school leaving by launching comparative studies and research, and
to encourage cooperation between the Member States in this area;
- to ensure, in cooperation with the Member States, and
without prejudice to the negotiations on the future financial framework,
that the Union programmes in the fields of lifelong learning, youth and
research, as well as the European Structural Funds, support and
contribute to the implementation of Member States' strategies on early
school leaving;
- to report periodically on the progress
towards the Europe 2020 target and on the implementation of Member
States' strategies on early school leaving.