30,000 kids skipping school a day - what needs to be done?

Photo / Chris Rudsdale, Northern Advocate

The Government will double funding to tackle truancy after a survey of schools found more than 30,000 children a day are skipping classes.

The Government acted quickly on its election promise to get tough on truancy, passing legislation under urgency that allowed parents of persistent truants to be fined, and ordering an urgent investigation into truancy levels.

But a Ministry of Education survey released today shows truancy rates remain almost unchanged from 2006, with 4.2 per cent of New Zealand's 750,000 students cutting classes every day.

30,000 kids skipping school a day: what needs to be done? Here is the latest selection of Your Views: