The Ministry of Public Education (MEP) expects that, just as it happened in 2016, this year there will also be a significant decrease in the number of students who do not return to school after the holidays.
According to data from the Department of Statistical Analysis of MEP, last year they registered a drop in the exclusion rate after the July break in all educational levels. The percentages decreased by 0.3% in preschool, 0.3% in elementary school, while in cycle III and Diversified Education it was 0.2%, something they hope to repeat or improve this year.
The MEP attributes this achievement to the “Yo me apunto” strategy, which seeks to promote permanence, reintegration and school success not only during vacations, but throughout the school year.
For Irvin Fernández, Advisor of “Yo me apunto”, the issue of school dropout may be due to different causes, so the strategy has an early warning tool that serves to detect students at risk of dropping out.
Once these risk factors are identified, an integral team defines the support plans according to the student’s case.
If it is an economic situation, they are referred to the process of a scholarship; if it is an academic situation, they are referred to the evaluation committee. If the student requires that the teacher develops a remedial plan to recover the subject, we discuss it… We also emphasize that each educational center generates its own internal strategy,”
said Fernández.
The MEP believes that success lies in prevention. However, if the student does not return to the classrooms after the vacations, a protocol is activated.
The moment a student is identified as a dropout, the school tries to locate them, they call the home, they even visit the student if necessary to talk with the family and try and convince them to return,”
said the adviser.
Fernández said that despite the significant advances that have been made in recent years, and expectation of the trend to continue, they continue to work with schools to improve their management, which generates benefits and guarantees the permanence of students.