WELLINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's primary and middle school attendance improves, with more children getting to school and a small drop in chronic absences following a truancy crisis across the country last year.
The number of students regularly attending school increased to 61.7 percent in term one, comparing to 59.5 percent same time last year and 53.6 percent in term four last year, Associate Education Minister David Seymour said on Thursday.
Regular attendance pre-COVID in 2019 was 72.8 percent, and the government has a target of ensuring 80 percent of students are present for more than 90 percent of the time by 2030, the minister said.
There are very real challenges for some families to regular attendance, sometimes beyond their control, Seymour said, adding that the government is looking into what causes truancy with an attendance action plan to help families get students back to school.
"For schools it means following up on all student absences, particularly those that are unexplained or unjustified," he said. ■
