More than 52,000 young people left school in 2017 without a lower secondary school leaving certificate. That is 5000 more than two years ago. This represents a nationwide increase of one percentage point to 6.9 percent. With the educational opportunities study, Caritas is focusing on young people who have hardly any opportunities on the labour market.
Since 2012, Caritas has been evaluating the data of school leavers without school-leaving qualifications annually down to the district level. With a one-year break, the figures of the study on educational opportunities were updated in July 2019.
Result: The ratio rose nationwide from 5.9 percent in 2015 to 6.9 percent. The rates have also risen in the federal states and in most districts and cities, albeit at different levels.
Immigration is one of the explanatory factors for the increased numbers. It is difficult for many immigrant young people to learn the language and obtain a school leaving certificate at the same time. The educational background of the young people is also very different. In addition, fugitive children and young people in particular usually do not immediately gain access to the German education system.
Immigration makes comparisons difficult
Due to the extra situation that has arisen as a result of immigration in recent years, comparisons between the federal states or even between the districts are difficult: the regulations for the schooling of newly immigrated children and adolescents are different in the federal states and the implementation in the municipalities is the same. In addition, immigration is distributed differently among the Länder and districts. Last but not least, the degrees of some immigrants are recorded statistically differently.
In order to assess the results of the 2019 Study on Educational Opportunities and to understand their impact, it is therefore necessary to take a closer look at the local conditions than in the past.
Political will is what counts
The Caritas Study 2012 on young people without a lower secondary school leaving certificate already showed that there are districts and cities that succeed in giving young people good opportunities for education despite difficult general conditions. Even if there are no patent remedies, there are some success factors that can be named which obviously have an effect in many places. More
Perspectives of young people without school-leaving qualifications on the labour market
If you leave school without a lower secondary school leaving certificate, it is difficult to find your way into an apprenticeship. Many do one training measure after the other. Only 29 per cent find a training place. The figure for peers with a lower secondary school leaving certificate is 57 per cent. And those who remain without vocational training can look forward to a bleak future. More
New Caritas study: More and more young people without a lower secondary school leaving certificate
Across Germany, the proportion of school leavers without a lower secondary school leaving certificate was 6.9 per cent in 2017. This was one percentage point higher than in 2015 and at the same level as ten years ago. Nationwide, more than 52,000 young people are affected. More
Education: The role of Caritas in the network society
The importance of educational participation for social participation can no longer be denied today. This also results in the educational responsibility of Caritas. However, the focus is no longer only on averting poverty risks, but also on the function of education and educational exclusion in the digital society. More
Educational situation of young people with a migration background
Children and young people with a migration background are entitled to education. In order to realise this, they depend on unhindered access to schools and to extracurricular and pre-school education. The educational participation of . More
European Caritas study on the educational background of its clients
Poor formal education and poverty are often linked. In order to better understand this link, to assess its extent, to draw comparisons between countries and, where appropriate, to review their own offers, four European . More
But there are also many solutions on site
Political will and local cooperation can be decisive for successful education. Caritas contributes to this with many offers: School social work, offers of vocational orientation, family and parental work, promotion of learning, accompanying school-weary youths and, last but not least, diverse counselling and support offers for immigrants are some of them.
Youth social work and its role for educational success
Today, social background still determines the school careers of young people and their future prospects. To what extent is different. The task of legally anchored youth social work is to reduce educational disadvantages and create fair opportunities for participation. Caritas contributes to this with many local offers. More
When children and young people do not go to school
In the morning, get up and go to school. However, not all young people arrive there, they temporarily or permanently skip classes. Or they are present, but refuse any participation. Sometimes they drop out of school. How can young people remain willing to learn at school? More
Young people fight for an education
An opportunity: for some young people more than they ever got in their school careers. The Mannheim association “Förderband” wants to help as many young people as possible to start and successfully complete an in-company apprenticeship. more
I couldn’t have done it without help.
Fabian volunteers in a youth club in Schwerin. The 25-year-old has time because he is unemployed. After all, he has a secondary school leaving certificate. Not a matter of course, because as a teenager he rarely went to school. More