Most probationers who fail to complete their year do so because they are absent through illness or are incompetent, according to the Education Minister.
In a parliamentary answer, Peter Peacock said that, at the last count in 2004-05, 2,093 probationers started out at the beginning of the session, of whom 1,991 successfully completed their year.
By June this year, it was estimated that there were 3,668 probationers.
