The Regional Secretary for Education, Science and Culture said in Ponta Delgada on Tuesday that one of his goals is to understand the reason why "so many children and youngsters" drop out school and fail to complete their education in order to change this situation.

Speaking during a visit to Domingos Rebelo Secondary School, Luiz Fagundes Duarte stressed that the fight against school failure must be carried out in "strict" coordination between the Government, teachers and the school board, providing each student with experiences in different areas of interest with the purpose of encouraging school success.

The Regional Secretary said that this was a lengthy process and not a quantitative one. Nevertheless, the government official hopes to have a positive indicator by the end of legislative period that will tackle the latest school failure rates in the Azores.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute, 43 percent of youngsters have failed to complete compulsory education, Luiz Fagundes Duarte stressed, assuring that he intends to break the cycle of school failure between parents and children.

In this regard, the Secretary emphasised that the Region has "good schools, good infrastructures and good teachers."

Luís Duarte Fagundes, who also visited Laranjeiras Secondary School on Tuesday, revealed that the Regional Education Council will meet in June. This particular matter will be under analysis at the meeting for the preparation of the next school year.