POU WHĀ | Te Tikanga Ture, Policy and Systems

Recent government policies, such as the reduction of funding for Ka Ora Ka Ako, removing public transport subsidies and proposing an Attendance Action Plan may have potential adverse effects on educational success.

The decision to cease funding free public transport for children and half-price fares for young people under 25 undermines efforts to improve attendance, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds. We are concerned that this move creates disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged students and lacks a clear rationale, intensifying the disconnect between policy and its consequences.

The proposed Attendance Action Plan is aimed at addressing truancy issues. Most school absences are caused by illness and family transience. Truancy is an issue for some schools but is not the major cause of school absences.

The intention of the policy to improve school attendance is commendable. All schools want student attendance to be as high as possible. What is disputable is whether collecting attendance data daily and publishing it will in any way improve school attendance. Addressing the complex factors contributing to absenteeism are much more relevant to the goal of getting young people back to school.

NZPF is disappointed not to have been consulted on this policy, when we could have contributed valuable insights into why young people are not attending school and how solutions might be found to lift school attendance. 

Julie Hepburn, Gavin Beere, Karen Brisco