In these years, the early school dropout rate in the Islands has experienced a progressive decrease, going from 31.5% percent with which the legislature started, to 28.3% percent in 2012, 27.5% a year later and 23.8% in 2014. This last figure also represents the largest year-on-year drop of the four years, standing at 3.7%.
"This is, without a doubt, the best news we could have in Canarian education," said the vice president and Minister of Education, Universities and Sustainability of the Government of the Canary Islands, José Miguel Pérez. "These data demonstrate that the educational policy that we have been developing since the beginning of the legislature is on the right track. Reducing the early dropout rate is a fundamental objective of the European Union. We have put all the means at our disposal to fulfill this purpose and we have achieved it," he added.
The improvement of the rate is a consequence of two main factors, as explained by the autonomous representative. On the one hand, he highlighted the growing interest of the Canarian population in training, as well as the commitment of the different sectors involved in the education sector in improving it and, on the other hand, the opportunities offered thanks to the expansion of the training offer made from the autonomous Administration in these years.
If this downward trend continues, the Canary Islands could easily reach the European purpose of placing the rate at 15% in 2020 throughout the next legislature. The counselor pointed out that, although the current rate is still high, "it is clear that we are on the right track.
"We have been saying for almost four years that, despite the cuts and restrictions imposed by the Government of Mariano Rajoy and the educational policy of the PP made behind the backs of citizens, we were not going to allow a lost generation in the Canary Islands in educational matters. Today we can affirm with satisfaction that, thanks to the commitment of all: centers, families, social agents and autonomous Administration, the economic crisis and the erroneous and elitist policy of the central Executive, have not managed to devastate an entire generation educationally and we can say that our school population is the largest in our history."