New Zealand students' truancy doubles in last decade: Report

Wellington, Oct 30 (IANS) Chronic absence in New Zealand students has doubled in secondary schools and nearly tripled in primary schools over the last decade, and the system for addressing this is "ineffective and failing," according to the Education Review Office (ERO) report published on Wednesday.

The report shows further evidence of a truancy crisis, said Associate Education Minister David Seymour, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Term Two this year, one in 10 students were chronically absent, with over 80,000 students missing more than three weeks of school during the term, the report said.

"The number of students who are chronically absent from school is at a crisis point and is damaging students' futures," said Ruth Shinoda, head of ERO's Education Evaluation Center.

Students who are chronically absent from school have higher rates of offending, are more likely to be victims of crime, and are more likely to live in social and emergency housing as adults, Shinoda said, adding that by the age of 20, they cost the government three times as much as students who go to school.

Despite the dedication of schools and attendance services, the current system to get these students back to school is ineffective and needs substantial reform, according to the ERO.

There is a lack of understanding of the implications of truancy, the report said, adding that interventions are occurring too late, and inadequate information sharing between agencies puts strain on attendance services.

The government has started a nationwide conversation on truancy, with the ministries of education, social development, children and police, and other departments to develop robust information sharing agreements, Seymour said.

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