Truancy officers will not be in place until 2003

IT will be another year at least before the 300 staff needed to enforce laws on school attendance are in place, secondary principals were told yesterday.

The National Educational Welfare Board became operational during the summer but chief executive Eddie Ward said it will take some time before education welfare officers are recruited and trained.

Elements of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 are being introduced on a phased basis, he told delegates at the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals’ (NAPD) annual conference.