Govt urged to tackle educational disadvantage

The Government came under pressure today to tackle educational disadvantage as figures showed more than half of students in some areas drop out of school before completing their Leaving Certificate.

The retention rates report, published today by Education Minister Mary Hanafin, revealed that 77.8% of students who began the Junior Certificate cycle in 1996 sat their Leaving Cert, with an additional estimated 3.2% outside the State system.