Truancy is one of the problems that is affecting many societies but it is not one that can be solved merely by taking punitive measures against those who are guilty of encouraging or perpetrating it. In the longer term we need to also unearth the root causes and implement appropriate solutions or remedies.
The danger with truancy is that it can lead to more serious problems such as criminality and other anti-social behaviour and therefore it cannot be treated lightly. It must be given full attention or else the societal consequences could be grave.
“Truancy is not the problem — it’s an indicator of other problems. When students aren’t in school, we need to understand why they stay away before we can effect solutions” (Safe Schools and Violence Prevention Office, California Department of Education)
The US Department of Education points out further that many students will skip either a single class or even a full day of school at least once during their academic career. They may want to attend a special event, prepare for prom night, or simply take what is known in the world of work as a “mental health day.” These isolated incidents are quite typical and unlikely to create problems. However, when class-cutting or full-day absences begin to occur routinely and in response to one or more problems in a student’s life, then there is great cause for concern. Truancy has become a very serious issue facing all of our schools, from elementary through high school, and all of our communities, regardless of income and social class. The fact is, truancy is an insidious problem for schools and communities because it stems from such a broad range of risk factors and leads to an equally varied set of negative — and even dangerous — consequences.
Joe Chandler in his article: Truancy – the First Step to a Bigger Problem notes:
“When skipping becomes habitual, it becomes truancy. What is Truancy? Truancy is defined as the intentional unauthorized absences by children, who are of compulsory school age. Absences which constitute an unexcused absence have been left up to the school administrations. Principles and other administrators are closest to the environment and the situations, thus their decisions are supposed to be objective while compassionate. Once the school determines that a student has missed more school days than allowed by state law, the school must refer the student and his/her parents to the Justice of the Peace where charges are filed either against the parents or the student. Children are our future and how can we teach and guide them if they are not in school learning.”
“If students are allowed to roam the streets without supervision, then problems will naturally occur. The U.S. Department of Education has documented the correlation between truancy and delinquency. The most notable is the high percentage of crime committed between 8am and 3pm has been found to have been by juveniles. “It is clear that not all disruptive children — including truants — will become delinquents, and not all delinquents will become serious, violent, or chronic juvenile offenders. However, the majority of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders did begin to display problem behaviors during childhood. Since truancy has been linked to delinquency, as well as to a range of additional risky behaviors that also correlate with delinquency, it is a critical issue to address as early and effectively as possible.”
In our society truancy is a serious problem in many communities and it was laudable that Education Minister Shaik Baksh recently announced that his Ministry will take a tougher stance against truancy which will see negligent parents being placed before the court. Speaking at a recent teachers’ forum at the Tain, University of Guyana (UG), Berbice Campus, Baksh said his ministry is moving in this direction because initial efforts made to talk to these parents were ineffective.
The minister hit the nail perfectly on the head when he said parents to a large extent are responsible for truancy and therefore stern action will be taken against the culpable ones.
He also assured that steps will be taken to strengthen capacity to deal with the problem. This is vital to curbing the problem because anti-truancy programmes have to be sustained or else the problem will never be brought under control. It is a matter of the future of children and by extension the future of the entire society.