BIG INCREASE IN NUMBER OF TRUANTS

A leap in nationwide truancy referrals is being blamed on increasing drug,
alcohol and family problems.

Ministry of Education figures released to The Press show referrals to the
country's district truancy services jumped 32.5 per cent in 2003, when
26,082 students were investigated by truancy officers for bunking off school.

In 2002, 19,676 were investigated.

Referrals jumped by almost 10% in Canterbury and the central South Island.

A New Brighton police operation yesterday picked up 48 students, all under
16, from a range of schools in the New Brighton police area.

"It (the numbers) was a surprise to me, especially so soon after school
holidays," said Senior Constable Pete Campbell, New Brighton youth aid officer.

Teachers and truancy officers spoken to by The Press predicted truancy
would get worse as more students took drugs and alcohol.

Christchurch East truancy officer Debbie Hopkinson said many students
referred to the service had behaviour, alcohol, drug and family problems.

"As drug and alcohol use increases, it (truancy) will increase," she said.
"The majority of referrals come from single parent homes. If your
15-year-old boy digs his toes in, what is mum supposed to do?"

Hopkinson said traditionally the majority of truants were aged 14 and 15,
although the number of 13-year-olds not going to school was increasing.

Hopkinson said sometimes chronic truants were referred to alternative
education programmes.

Canterbury West Coast Principals' Association chairman Neil Lancaster
predicted 5% of Christchurch students were not at school every day.

"I think it (truancy) is getting worse," he said. "The fact that a
significant number of students are not at school in any one day indicates
there are all sorts of problems," he said.

Lancaster said most schools kept a record of absentees by doing a roll
check each period. Parents were contacted if their child was not at school.

Canterbury primary principals' association chairwoman Jacqui Duncan said
primary schools were using truancy services more regularly because it was
acknowledged that truancy habits often started at an early age.

The rise comes just months after Education Minister Trevor Mallard
announced a $8.6 million package to combat truancy. The four-year project
will involve a pilot truancy prosecution process and a review of truancy
response in Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast.

The Ministry of Education said yesterday it did not keep a record of
truancy prosecutions. Ministry manager Sheila McBreen Kerr said the number
of truancy referrals did not reflect the number of truants because some
schools dealt with truants themselves.

A New Brighton programme, Te Kupenga O Aranui, caters for 15 teenagers aged
13-15 years who have repeatedly played truant.

Programme teacher Leah Archibald said the programme focused on curriculum
subjects, including maths and English, but students also learned vocational
and life skills.

"We have had some extremely tough characters through this programme" she
said. "Many of them have not been to school for 18 months. They are
involved in petty crime and have been living on the streets. We have had
success stories. Some of our students have gone back to school. Others have
jobs or are on training courses... There is a certain number of student who
it doesn't work for."