EDUCATION Minister, Shaik Baksh has credited the decline in the dropout rate of secondary school students mainly to the redesign of the curriculum to give more attention to  technical and vocational learning.
Speaking at a recent forum, he reported that these new interventions have been very significant in this regard, noting that dropout rates at both primary and secondary schools have fallen by 50 per cent in the past five years.
According to a release, he said the dropout at secondary schools moved downward from 12 per cent in 2005 to 5.5 per cent in 2010.
The ministry release said the dropout rate has been consistently moving down from 12 per cent in 2005 to 11 per cent in 2006 and nine per cent in 2007, while in 2008 and 2009, it remained at six per cent but dropped to 5.5 per cent in 2010.
The release said, at the primary level, the dropout, over the past five years, moved from four per cent in 2005 to two per cent in 2010. During that period, the rate fluctuated from four per cent in 2005 to 4.6 per cent in 2006 but descended to four per cent in 2007.
The rate dropped further to 3.35 per cent in 2008 but increased to 3.65 per cent in 2009 but showed an appreciable drop to two per cent in 2010.
Baksh pointed, specifically, to the introduction of the Secondary School Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), by the ministry, an initiative designed to stem school dropouts and ensure secondary school students are adequately prepared for the world of work.
He said, under that programme, students are given the opportunity to do courses in Language and Communication, Mathematics, Integrated Science and general studies in Agricultural Science, Industrial Technology, Home Economics and Visual Arts.     
Baksh explained that the goal of the programme is to provide students who are not academically inclined with an opportunity to learn a skill that will make them employable and, on completion of it, can also work privately.
He said it is intended to ensure that every child in the school system receives an education, is moulded with the right mindset and able to make a meaningful contribution to society.
Baksh noted that, recently, some 758 students throughout the country graduated from the programme at a ceremony held in the National Cultural Centre. Last year, the number was 502.
The minister also pointed out that the lower dropout rates at both primary and secondary schools have indicated that parents are paying more interest in their children’s education.
He credited the works of the Government over the years, too, some of which include the school feeding and the uniform programmes, as well as the truancy campaigns among other supportive interventions that are bearing fruit.