Pay youngsters to stay in school, says expert

Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

Despite several initiatives in the last decade to encourage young people from poorer areas to finish second-level schooling, almost one-in-five young people still leave school without sitting the Leaving Certificate. Economics professor Colm Harmon of UCD said a solution could be to follow the example of a successful trial of Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) payable to students.

Under the scheme, a 10% improvement in retention rates was found after local education authorities paid up to E 60a week to students who might otherwise have gone working or turned to crime. “There is no reason why such a scheme should not work here,” Prof Harmon said.