Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

There’s a concern the Government’s school shakeup could drive more students to drop out early.   New data shows that over 1,300 students were granted an early leaving exemption last year – the highest since 2007.  The Government is proposing to remove subjects from senior school general subject list, reclassifying them as a limited vocational option – one being Outdoor Education.  Whenua Iti Outdoors CEO Mark Bruce-Miller told Ryan Bridge that outdoor education allows all students flourish in areas that are difficult to work on within a classroom environment, such as teamwork, leadership, communication, resilience, and initiative.   He says students need to be as well-rounded as possible when leaving school, and removing outdoor education from the list means some students won’t get those benefits.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.