Preventing and reducing early leaving from education and training

The lifelong learning and counselling strategy action plan 2022-24, approved by the government on 20 April 2022, and the interlinked National implementation plan (NIP) explicitly address early leaving from education and training. Specific Milestone C6R4M8 of the National RRP made this agenda a prerequisite for drawing from National RRP funds. The most important improvements include the elimination of a dead-end path in lower secondary VET. The education ministry decree No 287/2022 links F-type programmes with H-type programmes leading to a certificate of apprenticeship.

With effect from 1 January 2022, there are four alternative options for obtaining lower secondary (general) education in addition to completing the ninth year of basic school

1. Extension and completion of education in a basic school by the decision of a school director no later than by the end of the school year in which the learner reaches the age of 17 and by the education ministry by the end of the school year in which the learner reaches the age of 18;
2. External testing for obtaining lower secondary education in a basic school, which is appointed by the regional educational authority;
3. Specialised education programme for obtaining lower secondary education in a basic school, which is appointed by the regional educational authority;
4. Within the VET programme (combined F-type programme) after parallel successfully passing the commission exams by which the learner obtains lower secondary education. This also allows learners to study at the VET school where they were already admitted to complete the VET programme leading to a certificate of apprenticeship (ISCED 353), or to complete a programme entitling graduates to apply for higher education (ISCED 354).

The 2021 amendment to the Education act also introduces new rules on the continuous formative and summative assessment of learners with the aim of combatting the increase in the number of learners at risk of school failure and also prescribes procedures for reporting poor performance or misbehaviour. A newly adopted education ministry decree on secondary schools (224/2022) lays down rules on the frequency and recipients of information to prevent early leaving.

Implementing the aforementioned activities to support increasing the permeability of the VET system and improving second-chance education is in progress.

The respective educational standards for obtaining lower secondary education are effective from 1 September 2023. According to this document, learners should acquire the competences necessary for continuing education and/or applying for a job in the labour market, in particular:

1. an adequate level of communication skills and the ability to react in various life situations;
2. the ability to cooperate effectively;
3. the ability to adopt and use effectively learning strategies in accordance with their real possibilities;
4. the ability to search, through the use of new ICT, new and/or necessary information and be able to process and use it;
5. the ability to understand the contemporary world;
6. the ability to take a position on rights and obligations in civil and working life;

through in detail set educational standards of relevant subjects.

Preparations for the RRP priority aimed at introducing an early warning system were underway as part of a national project under Programme Slovakia 2021-27.

The Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology runs the 2024-27 project titled Developing and verifying an early warning system for learners at risk of early school leaving (ESL) and targeted support for learners in the counselling and prevention system, with a budget of about EUR 7.67 million. The project is divided into four phases. The first phase will map the causes of early school leaving. The second phase includes the development of the early warning system itself. In the third phase, the system will be tested in 20 pilot schools in the Košice, Prešov, Bratislava and Trnava regions, where regional coordinators will work to provide support to school staff. Finally, in the 2027/28 school year, the knowledge gained from the pilot schools will be transformed into practical methodologies, training and education for teachers and staff members in the counselling and prevention system. This project addresses the issue of about 14 thousand early leavers annually, who face low employability. The reasons for failure are not identified yet which makes it difficult to set up targeted interventions. The project therefore also aims to:

1. map the causes and contributing factors of ESL;
2. deliver informational seminars, develop methodological materials on the prevention of ESL for schools, and to retrain 1 000 school staff members;
3. train staff in the counselling and prevention system aimed to implement the early warning system and set up support for learners at risk of ESL;
4. elaborate systemic recommendations for national authorities.

Since September 2025, 31 schools have been piloting the early warning system, each supported by two coordinators: one with a teaching background and one experienced in field or community work. One pair of coordinators serves three pilot schools. The activities of coordinators and those taking place directly at schools were set up after detailed research. More than 360 interviews were conducted, including 109 research interviews with school directors and 200 interviews with pedagogical or professional staff at schools. Furthermore, external experts from the Centre for Educational Analysis conducted 27 research meetings with principals and focus groups with teaching and professional staff in selected schools. Interviews with young people with an early school leaving history and their families were also conducted. This research contributed to the identification of relevant activities for piloting, such as mapping work with students at risk of early school leaving, mentoring by external experts, and networking with relevant stakeholders in the schools’ wider environment.