ACT welcomes call for truancy database

Tuesday 29 Mar 2005
Kenneth Wang
Press Releases -- Education

ACT Associate Education spokesman Kenneth Wang today welcomed the call by truancy officers to establish a national truancy database.

"It's crucial that a database is set up to prevent long-term truants from getting into more serious trouble because they can easily drop out of school," Mr Wang said.

Last year ACT revealed that of 6,499 children referred to the Non-Enrolment Truancy Service (NETS) in 2003, 244 couldn't be found.

"Currently it's too easy for a child to drop out of one school and never enrol in another - many will be tomorrow's criminals.

"The lack of a database is just another one of Labour's broken promises. In 1996, 1999 and 2002, Labour promised to create a national register to find children not in school.

"The Education and Science Select Committee urged Labour to establish a truancy database in 2002, but that call has been all but ignored.

"ACT believes a database must be an urgent priority if our children are to be given the best possible start in life.

"If Labour continues to sit on its hands and does nothing, today's truants will carry on choking up the courts and welfare system in the future," Mr Wang said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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