Katherine Rich MP
National Party Education Spokeswoman

8 August 2007

‘Lost’ students number thousands

While the truancy rate has increased by an alarming 41% under Labour, of even greater concern is the number of students who are ‘lost’ from education and not enrolled in any school at all, says National’s Education spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

“The Principal Youth Court Judge, Andrew Becroft, told the Education and Science Select Committee today that there are at least 1000 students who have fallen through the cracks and are not enrolled in any school. However he said from a court perspective it ‘looks and feels like 1000-3000 (kids). It’s hard to know’.

“Ministry officials can try to play down these figures, and argue that as a percentage of all students it’s very low, but these kids are the ones who make up the lion’s share of the Youth Court’s work.

“Attending school and being engaged in education has to be a major part of our country’s strategy to prevent, or at least reduce, the kind of cases Judge Becroft sees in his court.

“When 25%-30% of youth offending takes place in school hours, it’s a no-brainer that youth crime could be reduced simply by making school interesting to these young people.

“These sobering statistics confirm the need for National’s policies for standards in education - better assessment and intervention at the primary school level to make sure more young people get to high school with the skills to help them remain there.

“National Leader John Key’s policy for increasing trades training in schools will be a powerful tool to encourage students to stay in school as long as possible.”

ENDS

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