A fifth of students ‘miss school regularly’

ALMOST one-in-five Irish second-level students miss school or classes regularly, according to an international report published yesterday.

The major report studied participation levels among 15-year-olds in 41 countries. Of the 3,854 Irish students surveyed, 18% of students admitted they missed school, skipped classes or arrived late three or four times in the past fortnight, or did all three at least once in the same time.

Only nine of the 27 developed countries surveyed had lower levels of non-participation. Of the 14 non-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also surveyed, only students in Albania, Indonesia, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong-China had better attendance records.

The findings were based on questions asked of 15-year-olds who took part in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study between 2000 and 2001.

Despite our relatively good participation record, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) said it was a cause for concern that almost a fifth of students did not attend school or classes regularly.

Board chief executive Eddie Ward said: “Hard statistics on school attendance are badly needed but these figures certainly show the need for a well-resourced education welfare service to try and keep children in school for as long as possible.”

The NEWB this week asked the Department of Education for €25 million next year to help bring its staffing levels up to 220, which would allow the service work with 85% of the country’s schoolchildren and their families.

Mr Ward said the board should have detailed records of levels of non-attendance among the full school population next summer, but more research will be needed to identify the main reasons why classes are missed.

The PISA survey also asked the schoolchildren whether they felt they belonged or were liked by other students. It revealed 19% of Irish students had a low sense of belonging, with only those in Sweden, Israel, Brazil and Britain having fewer young people feeling this way.

PISA director Andreas Schleicher said although the Irish figure was relatively low, it was notable against our students’ strong performance in reading and mathematical literacy tests.

“A lot of Irish students do quite well academically, but still feel out of place at school. They could be an interesting group to look at,” he said.

John Carr, general secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation, said the best way to prevent poor attendance and early school leaving is with initiatives from junior infants on.