Teachers in Fiji are calling for action to prevent children leaving school before they've finished their studies.
Latest statistics from the education ministry show that only forty-four percent of people who started school in 1988 reached the sixth form.
Tevita Koroi, who's President of the Fijian Teachers' Association, says poverty is a key reason why students are dropping out.
He says people moving from villages to the towns take their children with them and fill up classes in primary schools.
"We have relatively bigger classes, class size, than in the rural areas. That is an indication that urban primary schools are getting in more students who are seeking primary school education in towns."
Mr Koroi says a reduction in the number of pupils in rural primary schools is most evident in outlying islands.
