Britain to get tough on dropouts

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LONDON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A new British law will fine teenagers who refuse to work, seek job skills or remain in school, The Sunday Times reported in London.

The law takes effect in 2013 after the government has had time to add 90,000 apprenticeships for 16- to 18-year-olds to the current 150,000. Colleges are to make room for another 44,000 students, The Times reported.

The plan calls for recalcitrant teenagers to pay a fine and face further penalties in court if they do not comply with the law.

Geraldine Everett, chairman of the Professional Association of Teachers, has called the law a "potential minefield" that would "compel the disaffected to, in their perception, prolong the agony," The Times reported.

British officials estimate about 10 percent of 16 to 18-year-olds currently are not being educated, employed or trained for work.