Minister of Education Priya Manickchand says that while major truancy campaigns will continue, the important aspect is that education officials at the central and regional levels are on a truancy watch daily.
“For me the first place where you can tell if something is wrong with a child, in an institutional way, is in the school,” she said, according to the Government Information Agency. In this regard, the school must be diligent on reporting students’ absenteeism and when they are presenting difficulties, she said.
Manickchand said that changes are being made to the reporting system to ensure that the Schools’ Welfare and Guidance and Counselling departments are always made aware routinely of challenges with students. She added that some schools are not submitting the required reports of such cases and that is not acceptable.
The Minister stressed, according to GINA, that the reports are important so that truancy can be effectively addressed, and pointed out that the exercise will be taking a different format from the major ones.
She said there will now be daily exercises with checks being made at the bus parks and market areas and a closer link made with the Child Care and Protection Agency.
GINA said that over the last few years hundreds of children have been netted and parents taken before the court.
The Schools’ Welfare Department is mandated to execute truancy campaigns since a decline in school attendance was previously observed.
