Estonia are the new Hooky World Champions!

Continuing the trend of vaguely linked posts, today's Eesti Päevaleht highlights the results of a UNICEF report issued late last week which reveal that Estonia leads the world in high school truancy.

Specifically, as many as 45% of students in Year 8 maths classes are skipping class. Or at least they were in 2003, which is when the figures date from (and which begs the question: why did it take them four years to write the report?).

Of course, officials are scoffing at the numbers being thrown about. Someone from the Ministry of Education the paper managed to get hold of claimed that the figures in the UNICEF report were not based on any statistical data, only to admit that that's because no such data exists. At least, not in the MoE.

School principals are also frowning upon the report's findings, stressing that the 10% of students who are dropping out of school altogether is a much bigger problem, and pointing out that while there is a problem with truancy, it is 'no worse than about 1 in 5'.

Even that says something though, I would have thought. I can't say I blame the kids myself, really, if Year 8 maths here is anything like Year 8 maths was when I was at school, and given the numbingly rigid structure of the education system in this country. If they had more say in what they learn, perhaps they would be more inclined to stick with it.

http://www.epl.ee/uudised/401257