(10 November 2017) – The 2017 edition of the Commission’s Education and Training Monitor, published yesterday confirms that students’ educational attainment largely depends on their socio-economic backgrounds.
The latest edition shows that while Member States are making progress towards most of the key EU targets in reforming and modernising education, more efforts are needed to achieve equity in education.
The Monitor’s most recent data also show that in 2016, only 44% of young people aged 18-24 who had finished school at lower secondary level were employed.
At the same time, socio-economic status determines how well pupils do: as many as 33.8% of pupils from the most disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds are low achievers, compared to only 7.6% of their most privileged peers.
Young people with a migrant background are at a greater risk of performing badly at school and leaving school prematurely. In 2016, as many as 33.9% of people aged 30-34 living in the EU but born outside it were low skilled, compared to only 14.8% of their peers born in the EU.