TRUANCY FROM SCHOOL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29273, 3 August 1960, Page 8

TRUANCY FROM SCHOOL

“Parents Connive In Many Cases”

Christchurch visiting teachers investigating the reasons for children’s reluctance to attend school, “have found many cases of parents who connive at their chilren’s acts of truancy and other cases of parents who prefer to keep children at home to take charge of the house while ' they themselves go out to work,” the Education Commission was told yesterday. "Several parents have admitted that they have not sufficient control over their children to make sure they go to school when sent off in the morning. We interpret this to mean that the children are not under the control of their parents; but Child Welfare regulations consider they 'are under sufficient control until, such times as they violate laws other than that which makes school attendance compulsory,” it Was stated in evidence. :

“In some families the paying of a small fine is looked upon as a permit' to keep children at home. We view'with concern the disregard for the law that is instilled into children in these circumstances. “We wonder if it would be advisable to reframe the regulations to give a Magistrate the power to order child welfare supervision after two prosecutions have effected no improvement in the position. We feel that if this could be done and 'the children could re-establish a normal pattern of school attendance, their school work would benefit, their chances of congenial employment in later life would improve and their respect for the law would be deepened,” the visiting teachers said.