NON-ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10376, 3 June 1895, Page 3

NON-ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL.

A number of parents; were brought before Messrs J: W. Brindlay aiid T. Brydone, J.P's., at the Police Court on Saturday morning, on aecourit of thsir .fchildren not beiag in regular attendance at scboal.. The informations were all laid by the truant officer (R; 1\ Aitken), for. whom Siih appe'arad. Iri the case of Richard Howard, who vr&i :charged under,sections of "The School Attendance Act 1894" .with heglectins: to send Mb child to the Forbury Schbol after receiving notice from the school committee to do so, the Bench, issued an order directingthe defendant to send the child to school. The other, informations were all laid under section 7 of the act, which provides that .wheua.child of a dertaiu age does not attend school six tinies in any week in the course of wtiich the school was bpe'u nine times the parent of subh child was liable to a penalty of Ss;' The following offenders were fined accordinely :— Alexander Sickles, Green Island School; Emantiel Solbmau; .Union street; NVilliam Thomas Lewis, Albany street (two. charges); James Kurt, Arthur stre.et; William Waldren, Kaikorai; vVilliam I Kaikorai (two charges); Robert Clark, Macandrew road; Charles Keats, Macahdrevv rbad (three charged). Two informations against Francis Gawn; Macindrew road, and drie against Lawrence Irvine. Macandrew road; were withdrawn, the bench being, satisfied in'; the former case that, tbe parent had been ill and in the latter that every, reasonable means had been taken to gat the child td attend school. '

In all tbe cases brouglit before the cpiirt, with two exceptions, the children were boys; mflst of whom it was alleged, played truant. One of the parents (Robert Clark), whose boy was sent to the Macandrew road School, after trying various methods td get the boy toattenci; bad1 hit upon the expedient of getting the schoolmaster to iuitial a book given to the-boy every day the

latter was in attendancs. The informant, under these circ'imstances, withdrew one charge against the.defendant....... .. ....... . . ~-.