The rate of students repeating a year in French-speaking Belgium has finally decreased, though it still far exceeds international standards, Le Soir reported on Friday.
Data obtained by the publication show that in 2017, 48% of 15-year-old students were behind schedule in their education. That figure has since dropped to 39.5%.
"There is still work to be done to reach the target of 24% by 2030, set out in the ‘Pact for Excellence’," Le Soir noted.
Between 2017 and 2022, the percentage of primary school students falling at least a year behind decreased from 17% to around 15% in the final two years of primary education.
In secondary schools, the delay rate saw an even sharper decline, dropping nearly eight percentage points from 45.1% to 37.5% during the last three years of study.
