Total absences for students in primary and secondary schools during
the academic year 2012/2013 amounted to 710,161 days, equivalent
to an annual average of 15.4 absences per student, the National Statistics Office said today.
It said truancy recorded during the academic year 2012/2013 decreased
by 8.0 per cent when compared with the previous academic year. Total authorised absence increased by 8.6 per cent and made up 61.2 per cent of total absences.
The governemnt some months ago launched a campaign to reduce truancy and introduced grants to low income families conditional on the children going to school.
The NSO said unauthorised absences dropped by 25.9 per cent.
The average number of absences during the period under review stood at 15.4 days per student, down by 1.1 days in comparison with the previous academic year.
In absolute terms, boys recorded higher levels of absenteeism during the
academic year 2012/2013, most of which were classified as authorised. The levels of unauthorised absences dropped substantially both among boys and girls. On average, boys and girls at the same level of education exhibited similar levels of absences.
The largest volume of absences in state schools was recorded by upper secondary
students, while in the case of church and independent schools, students at primary level of education recorded the highest absenteeism levels. Increases in authorised absences were recorded in state, church and independent schools when compared to the previous scholastic year. Unauthorised absences rose by 11.0 per cent in church schools and declined in both state and independent schools - 28.0 and 17.3 per cent respectively.
Students of all ages recorded lower levels of absences during the scholastic year
2012/2013, with the exception of students aged 16 and over. In particular, students aged 11 to 15 exhibited drops of up to 19.0 per cent in their absence levels, when compared with the previous academic year. Total absences among students aged 16 increased by 3.4 per cent over 2011/2012.
On average, eight year olds were the ones scoring the lowest absence levels, while 16-year-olds had the highest average levels of absenteeism.
Absences in state schools decreased by 10.5 per cent when compared with the previous year. Unauthorised absences went down by 28.0 per cent, while authorised absences increased by 11.0 per cent. On average, students attending state schools located in the South Harbour district accumulated the highest average number of absences (40.5 days per student), while Gozitan students recorded the lowest average number of absences with 13.9 days per student.
MUT - quality is more important
In a reaction, the Malta Union of Teachers said it applauded any initiatives especially since truancy was one of the issues which had been on the agenda for a very long time.
"However, the MUT feels that this issue is being dealt with quantitatively – in terms of numbers – with the quality of education being forgotten in the process. Particularly the union questions the mentality of grants being handed out as long as children are taken to school. Such mentality is leading to a variety of new issues, including disruptions by students who are not interested in learning and situations whereby sick students are sent anyway in order to claim the grant. The union hopes that a more comprehensive approach is considered in the future and initiatives are not undertaken just to look good on statistical tables."