Keeping kids from dropping out of school has topped the Education Ministry’s agenda for years in Costa Rica, and some advances have been made. However the past two years the percentage who drop out at some point during the school year has remained steady at 2 percent.

That translated into 14,606 students who have dropped out so far this year, according to data from the ministry.

The mid-year vacations at the beginning of July are when most students who are planning to desert the classroom do so.

“Reducing the rates of exclusion and school dropout during the sensitive period following school holidays is a challenge to the nation’s commitment to education,” said Minister of Education Sonia Marta Mora.

The year started with a total student body of 923,920 students enrolled in pre-school, primary and secondary education.

Despite the persistent school desertion problem, the Ministry of Education said a positive outcome was found in the country’s most vulnerable schools. For the 166 schools with the highest dropout rate, there was a 1.7 percent drop in the mid-year school desertion rate, which is attributed to efforts by a program designed to motivate students to stay in school called “Yo Me Apunto” in Spanish, or “I’m Signed Up.”

Education authorities are banking on changes to laws that require children to have two years of preschool under the belts before enrolling in first grade as a technique for avoiding school desertion in later years, added the ministry in a press release.

This year the public school system had greater retention of students in the transition from primary to secondary school (when students pass from 6th to 7th grade and enter high school), but saw increased drop outs in the final years of high school, which is an unusual occurrence.