Hi-tech anti-truancy pilot 'fails'

An anti-truancy project which uses modern technology to alert parents to children's absences has failed, a report says.

Three Wellington schools were involved in the pilot programme, which alerts parents via text message, email or phone when their child is absent, the Dominion Post reported today.

But a report obtained under the Official Information Act shows the messages were ignored by most parents and the programme has been abandoned.

The Education Ministry report showed just 9 per cent of parents replied to one school's text messages. The highest response rate was 45 per cent, to an automated voice message.

Each message cost more than $2 to send.

The report said there was no evidence of reduced truancy.

Ministry policy manager Martin Connelly told the paper he was surprised by the low response from parents, as the scheme has been successful overseas.

Nineteen cases involving 22 absent students had been taken against parents in the past year, including a successful prosecution in Upper Hutt District Court.

Another initiative to fight truancy was a new electronic enrolment system launched by the Government last month, designed to make it easier for schools and the ministry to keep track of students.

This should ensure they did not "fall through the cracks", Education Minister Steve Maharey said.

The web-based ENROL system went live in 124 Auckland schools last month and was in the process of being implemented in a further 339 secondary and intermediate schools nationwide.

ENROL has been piloted in a number of schools over the last 10 months. Funding of $4.8 million was provided in last year's budget and it will be in all schools by the end of 2007.

- NZPA