With several OECD countries planning to raise the age of compulsory education to 18 or tying school-leaving to the acquisition of an upper secondary or vocational qualification, Greece risks falling further behind. In this respect, the current economic downturn could provide a suitable backdrop for a move to raise the compulsory education requirement. Indeed, as labour market opportunities decrease, particularly for youth without qualifications, drop-out rates are likely to fall, making it easier to gather political consensus and to enforce the new measures.