Labour does little to keep kids in school
new-zealand-national-party
Mon Apr 23 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Labour does little to keep kids in school
Monday, 23 April 2007, 8:03 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party
Labour does little to keep kids in school
The Labour Government has done little to stem a growing complacency about pupils spending time away from school, says National’s Education spokeswoman, Katherine Rich.
She is commenting on an internal Ministry of Education report which shows families that pull their children out of school to take advantage of cheap flights and ‘piggy-back’ deals are contributing to the growing truancy rate.
The report, obtained under the Official Information Act, was handed to Education Minister Steve Maharey before he discussed truancy with officials last April. It lists culture, home environment, student behaviour, the promotion of youth training courses and family holidays as the causes of drop-out.
It says: ‘Another adverse incentive may be the availability of reduced-price airfares during school term time, including `piggy-back' airfares that allow children to travel cheaply in the company of their parents. Advertising of these ... actively encourages parents to remove their children from school during the school year. It also sends [a] conflicting message about the value of school.’
Mrs Rich says it doesn’t matter if children are missing two weeks of school to hang out at the mall or to go on an overseas skiing holiday, “the upshot is the same – it’s time away from getting an education”.
“As parents, we need to think more carefully before pulling children out of school to suit our own timetables.
“The truancy problem is reaching crisis proportions. Under Labour, the truancy rate has grown 41% since 2002 and it’s going to get worse unless this Government takes the problem seriously and implements policies to stem the tide.
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“If it weren’t bad enough that tomorrow, the first day of the new term, 13% of Kiwi pupils are likely to be absent, the overall truancy problem is worse when broken out by ethnicity.
“The truancy rate for Maori pupils has increased by 46% since 2002, with the rate for female Maoris at an all-time high of 7% - that’s a whopping 66% increase since 2002.
“It would be ridiculous for any government to suggest curbing the advertising of cheap flights and ‘piggy-back’ deals, but this is a reminder that the key influences in the truancy equation are parents.
“The present penalties are pathetic, seldom applied, and do little to make parents think twice about regularly pulling their children out of school. Labour is at fault here. They have done little to address the complacency about time away from school.
"Penalties are a last resort, but they do help to send a strong message in extreme cases.
“A child can’t learn to read and write well if he or she is not there. It’s that simple.”
Ends
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