By Kim Bo-eun
Would-be high school dropouts will undergo a two-week deliberation period to receive counseling from experts as part of the government’s efforts to keep them studying.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday that they have decided to jointly implement the deliberation period in high schools from next month.
The measure aims to curb the number of students quitting school, starting at high schools, which record higher dropout rates than elementary and middle schools.
School principals will require students who have shown signs of or willingness to dropout, together with their parents, to receive counseling and undergo a two-week deliberation period to consider any future decision. Participation in the period will count as attendance at school.
Students who are ill, leave to study abroad or transfer to cyber high school are exempt from the deliberation period.
During that time, students will receive individual and group counseling as well as undergo psychological tests. They will also learn about the situation they will face if they drop out. Information about support centers for dropouts managed by the education ministry and academic support programs will be provided as well.
“We expect the rate of high school dropouts to decrease by around 10 percent through the implementation of the deliberation system,” a ministry official said.
Gyeonggi Province implemented the deliberation period as a pilot program in 2011. It produced successful results. Only 369, or 17.8 percent, of 2,073 students who received counseling decided to go through with their decision to quit school.
As of 2011, the overall rate of high school dropouts was 1.72 percent, or 33,783 students. For high schools the rate was 1.17 percent or 17,439 students. The rate for vocational high schools was slightly higher at 3.51 percent or 16,344 students.
As for middle school students, 0.83 percent or 16,320 students quit school in 2011 while the figure was 0.31 percent for elementary school students or 10,181 pupils for the same year.
The major reason for dropping out of school, was maladjustment cited by 17,548 students, followed by illness (2,239), family-related matters (4,526), inappropriate conduct (483).