School dropouts get a chance to make their case

I AM requesting young people who, for one reason or another, have dropped out of school early and not completed their Leaving Certificate to take part in research into how and why the school system has failed them.

Given that early school-leavers tend to have low reading levels, I am aware it may be parents or past teachers who respond on their behalf.

Recent figures from the OECD indicate that 14%, or one in every seven second-level students, do not complete upper secondary education which leaves Ireland lagging perilously behind a number of our European counterparts such as the Czech Republic (10%), Finland (7%), Switzerland (11%) and Norway (9%).