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Education Minister Chris Hipkins says stricter enforcement of fines for parents of truants will solve the problem of school attendance.
Download AudioEducation Minister Chris Hipkins says stricter enforcement of fines for parents of truants will solve the problem of school attendance.
National and ACT have promised to go hard on attendance, with National leader Christopher Luxon saying New Zealand has a culture of excuses.
Mr Hipkins says the Ministry of Education has only imposed one fine in five years.
“Parents do need to accept responsibility for getting their kids to schools, but past records show more fines and more legal action against parents generally doesn’t improve school attendance,” he says.
School attendance data for Term 2 showed just 40 percent of students attended school and kura regularly, down from 64 percent in 2020 – withy Covid-19 and other illnesses a factor.
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