Why School Age Should Not Be Lowered to 15 in New Zealand

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School leaving age Have you ever wondered why the leaving age for school is 16? To most students, leaving school at an early age would be great. So why not allow it and lower the leaving age to 15? There are many reasons with this such as lack of high-paying jobs, lack of education and lack of maturity. Firstly, the major problem for leaving school at the age of 15 is the lack of high-paying available in New Zealand. The age for leaving school in New Zealand is 16. Many countries also have the same leaving age. However, some countries, such as Spain, have a lower leaving age of 14. The leaving age of a country depends on its job availability. Spain has a lot of high-paying jobs; so therefore, their leaving age is lower as there are more roles available for young people. Research shows that when United States, Canada and the United Kingdom raised their school leaving age by one year, people earned 10% to 14% more and get better jobs than people who left school earlier. Research also shows that people who leave school early are more likely to be unemployed, unhappy and unwell. In New Zealand, many jobs in New Zealand are getting filled up each day. For example, there is constant competition on the topic of ICT at the moment in New Zealand. More people want to get into this role and to do so they need the education from school and further study to get their desired positions. Therefore, the school leaving age should be kept at 16 because lack of high-paying jobs is affecting those leaving early. Secondly, another problem with lowering the school leaving is the lack of education gained. New Zealand is a country with a good education system. We might not be the best in the world but we also not the worst. Countries such as China for example, have a really good education system as there school age is 18. The fact is that the longer you stay in school, the more

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