Truancy falls 8% at SOHS

• Published date: 25 May 2023

Regular school attendance is defined as greater than 90% of class time, but Covid-19 disruption caused the presence of pupils to plummet

Ministry of Education (MoE) statistics for term four regular attendance showed a national average of 65% in 2021, dropping to 50.6% in 2022, while Otago-Southland rates for term four last year were 56.6%.

Schools are working to restore numbers as pandemic restrictions roll back.

South Otago High School (SOHS) holds the contract for school attendance services in the South Otago area.

SOHS principal Mike Wright reviewed recent data and said the trend was for improving attendance compared with the same time in 2022.

‘‘We have seen an 8% improvement in attendance for SOHS students which is a significant change,’’ he said, ‘‘This could partly be explained with reduced numbers...