VietNamNet Bridge – MOET on March 10 released a report which said that in the first semester of the 2008-2009 school year, 86,269 students dropped out, or 0.56% of the total 15.3mil students nationwide.

The drop-out percentages and fixed numbers were calculated from the beginning of the new school year to December 31, 2008.

The rate of drop-outs in primary education is 0.13% (nearly 9,000 students), secondary education 0.7% (40,000 students), high schools 1.29% (38,000 students).

Cuu Long River Delta provinces prove to be the area which has the highest numbers of students giving up school, 25,000 students, or 0.88%. The students are reportedly quitting school because of poverty and bad transportation.

Meanwhile, the Central Highlands proves to have the highest percentage of drop-outs, at 0.96% with 11,000 students.

According to MOET, the rate of general education students giving up school in the first semester of the 2008-2009 school year decreased from the same period of last year (0.94%) and 2006-2007 school year (0.9%).

The rate of drop-outs has also decreased in localities. The Cuu Long River Delta, for example, saw the drop-out ratio decrease to 0.88%, while it was 3.1% in the 2007-2008 school year, the highest rate in the country.

Five main reasons have been cited to explain why students are still dropping-out in large numbers: 1/ financial difficulties 2/ weak learning capacity 3/ long distance from home to school 4/ natural calamities and epidemics and 5/ others.

38.03% of students (33,000 students) have dropped out because of weak learning capacity, 30.36% (26,300) because of financial difficulties. Meanwhile, only a few cases have been attributed to natural calamities and epidemics (1.13% and 977 cases).

Drop-outs are students who have their names on lists of students of schools but who are absent from school without permission for more than 45 classes prior to the preparation of a report. Drop-outs do not mean students who have transferred to different schools.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien said that local authorities have taken drastic measures to minimise the drop-out number. As for students from families with difficulties, the ministry has asked local authorities and social institutions to give support in textbooks and reduce tuition fees. Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang and Dien Bien have been recognised as applying good measures to reduce the numbers of drop-outs.

Kieu Oanh