THE MINISTRY of Education’s Schools’ Welfare Services on Friday conducted a truancy campaign in Sophia, visiting a number of  areas and nabbing several children who were absent from school. Two groups, comprising welfare officers and guidance counsellors, accompanied by officers from the Turkeyen Police Station conducted the exercise.
The team also distributed several flyers pertaining to truancy and child protection laws to Sophia residents.
Chief Schools Welfare Officer, Carol Melville said that the main focus of the campaign was to sensitise persons in the community about the importance of education.
“We want everybody to get on board to have all children attend school,” she said.
The Welfare division carries out two major truancy campaigns per term and the areas visited are determined by records of attendance submitted to the agency by the different schools.
Mini campaigns are also conducted at the Georgetown bus parks around 09:00hrs daily to ensure that students get to school on time.
The welfare services also works in collaboration with a number of empowerment agencies such as the Ministry of Social Services and the Child Protection Agency in carrying out the exercise.
The assistance of these supporting agencies has proven valuable to the agencies, for the reason that in carrying out these campaigns, the agency has met with a variety of social problems, Melville said.
In such cases, the agency refers the child to the support agency, Melville said.
If a child has been found to be abused, that child is referred to the Child Protection Agency. Officers  within the welfare department also assist by providing counselling.
The truancy campaign would have also assisted with the placement of a number of previously unregistered school children, Melville said, as during the campaigns, if the agency finds that a child is not in a school, that child is referred to the placement unit of the ministry and is subsequently placed in a school.
Parents of absconders are also lawful targets and from last year to now the agency brought legal action against 51 parents of absconders.
The magistrate advised these parents to be more active in ensuring their children attend school.
“If the parents fail to carry out the order of the magistrate, the parents are taken again before court and a fine given to them.
Parents are taking serious the truancy campaign and heeding the advice of the magistrate as “so far, no parent has been fined,” she said, adding:
“The truancy campaigns are very effective, and the agency has noticed that fewer children are at home during their campaigns.”