Leaving school early is bad for health and wealth [Independent.ie]
- Published: 16 October 2009
LEAVING school early is bad for your health and prospects for future wealth, a senior ESRI researcher told a conference yesterday. She said a Leaving Certificate qualification had become the minimum necessary for access to education and employment.
But early school leaving also had striking effects on other aspects of people's lives, said Dr Emer Smyth from the Economic and Social Research Institute. For instance, early school leavers also had:
- Higher rates of anxiety and depression.
- Higher rates of smoking and heavy drinking.
- Greater dependency on medical cards.
- Higher rates of lone motherhood.
- Much higher rates of imprisonment.
