Post-secondary world plagued with high drop-out rate

HAMILTON (CUP) – A recent study shows many students are dropping out of post-secondary institutes, and only a few are coming back.
Statistics Canada joined the Human Resources and Skills Department in a study tracking the educational pathways of 22,000 young adults. The six-year study began in 1999, when the subjects were between 18 and 20.
The results show that 15 per cent of students who attended a post-secondary institution dropped out before completion, and those students who chose to leave their respective schools more closely resembled those who initially decided against post-secondary.
The largest proportions of students leaving school were from Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia; the lowest proportion came from Prince Edward Island.
The students were more likely to be male, married, and come from families with lower levels of education. They were also more likely to have had lower grades and less involvement in high school.
Most started to consider dropping out in their first year of study.
The most frequent reasons cited for leaving school were to travel, to change institutions or programs, to take a break, or to work.
Only 10 per cent of the students who dropped out cited financial strain as the cause.
The survey differentiated between people who dropped out of school and people who quit school. The former returned to some sort of studies, while the latter become completely divorced from the post-secondary world.
The rate of students returning to post-secondary studies after dropping out is still quite high, depending on their reason for leaving.
For example, 68 per cent of students who left school to travel came back within two years, and 47 per cent who listed changing their school or program as their reason came back.
However, only 28 per cent who left to work, and 29 per cent who left because their grades were too low returned. The survey did not specify whether the students returned to their original studies or new ones.
The survey showed 14.3 per cent of youth aged 22-24 earning the least amount of money had university degrees, while 12.8 per cent did not have high school diplomas.
That puts a higher percentage of university graduates than high-school drop-outs in the lowest salary bracket.