Spain won’t reach any of the objectives set by the European Union on education for 2010 (article in Avui). Instead in the past years, the country has seen its performance worsen in the majority of the key indicators that the European Commission has in place, such as the number of students who leave school early, according to a report presented yesterday. Other subjects that the EU is rating member countries on include the level of basic skills amongst pupils and the number of graduates in science and technology. Spain doesn’t meet any of the five objectives set for next year, whilst amongst other members, it is only in the matter of increasing the number of graduates that progress has been achieved. The number of young people leaving school early has risen in Spain from 29 percent to 32 percent in the last eight years, while the European average is 14.9 percent and the EU had aimed for member states to have a level of only 10 percent by 2010. In addition, only 60 percent of people aged between 20 and 24 have completed post-obligatory higher education, which is six points lower than in 2000 and 18 percent lower than the EU average; and more than 25 percent of 15-year-olds have an insufficient reading level, when the objective was for this number to be at 17 percent.