Education - School statistics: Between dropping out and top performance
Despite a slight downward trend, one in ten pupils in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern still leaves school without the qualifications required for vocational training. As the Ministry of Education in Schwerin announced on Thursday, citing data from the statistics office, the proportion of pupils without the necessary school-leaving qualification fell from 10.6 to 9.9 percent between 2022 and 2023. This means that they did not have the so-called vocational maturity, which generally requires the successful completion of ninth grade and is a prerequisite for starting an apprenticeship. At the end of the previous school year, this applied to a total of 1,401 of the 14,104 school leavers in the state, with 608 receiving a special school certificate and 793 remaining without a certificate at all.
"The figures show a positive trend. However, we must take further measures to further reduce the number of school leavers without qualifications," emphasized Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left Party). She referred to the voluntary 10th school year at regional and comprehensive schools that has been possible since this school year. This gives pupils who need more time to learn an additional year. There are also dual school courses with a stronger practical focus in the form of productive learning and vocational maturity.
According to the statistics office, in the 2022/23 school year, the intermediate school leaving certificate after year 10 was once again the most frequently obtained qualification. It was achieved by exactly 5,632 students, or 39.9 percent of candidates. With the Abitur, 31.3% of pupils obtained the general higher education entrance qualification. The vocational entrance qualification was achieved by 13.7 percent and the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences by 5.2 percent of pupils.
The statistics office also pointed out that graduates in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were able to obtain the Qualifizierte Mittlere Reife for the first time. This requires a final grade of at least 1.4. In the past school year, 167 pupils achieved such an exceptional result.
In the 2022/23 school year, around 8900 of the total 10,600 trainees successfully completed their vocational training in the final year of their apprenticeship. According to the statistics, areas such as trade, vehicle and shipbuilding technology, energy technology and gastronomy were particularly popular.
It is true that the number of people completing vocational training in the country without a qualification is also falling. However, the aim is to further reduce the proportion from just under 16 percent. "We will also make further efforts here to reduce the number of graduates from vocational schools without a qualification. The state government is planning to hire an additional 150 teachers at vocational schools," explained Oldenburg.
In the past, business associations and chambers of commerce had repeatedly complained that many trainees lacked basic skills such as arithmetic.
Press release from the statistics office with links
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- The voluntary 10th school year at regional and comprehensive schools, introduced this school year, provides an additional year for pupils in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern who need more time to learn.
- Simone Oldenburg, the Education Minister in Schwerin, stated that even though there's a positive trend, further measures are necessary to reduce the number of school leavers without qualifications, which currently stands at 9.9%.
- Oldenburg mentioned that dual school courses with a stronger practical focus, like productive learning and vocational maturity, are also available for students in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
- Oldenburg also mentioned that the federal government's BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) is funding initiatives to improve vocational education, aiming to reduce the number of trainees without qualifications from just under 16%.
Source: www.stern.de
