MORE THAN 20 per cent of secondary school pupils in certain counties are absent from class for a month or more each year, new figures show.
In Dublin, more than 12,000 pupils at second level are absent for 20 days or more each year.
Nationally, in excess of 46,000 pupils are absent for a full month each year, according to the figures from the school attendance body, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB).
The figures – revealing a very high level of school absenteeism in virtually every county – were described last night as “extremely worrying’’ by Teachers’ Union of Ireland president Don Ryan.
The counties with the highest levels of absenteeism at second level are Leitrim (where 22 per cent of pupils are absent for a month or more); Cavan (21 per cent) and Westmeath (20 per cent).
Waterford is the county with the lowest level (13 per cent).
All figures are for the school year 2005/06.
Not surprisingly, the figures show a strong link between non-attendance and social disadvantage. Those regularly missing from school are also the group most likely to drop out before the Leaving Cert exams.
The NEWB has acknowledged that school absenteeism is at an “unacceptably high” level.
Its figures also show a high level of absenteeism even in primary schools, where 12 per cent – or more than 50,000 pupils – are missing for a month or more every year.
Dublin has the highest rate of primary school absenteeism in the State, at 14 per cent.
Mr Ryan said most of those missing school will inevitably drop out before the Leaving Cert exams.
“Non-attendance is linked to socio-economic disadvantage and poor performance in State examinations and we hope these figures draw the Government back to reality and [it] shows how truly shameful some of the recent budget cutbacks are.”
He said the withdrawal of grant aid from schools for essential programmes such as the Junior Certificate School Programme and the Leaving Certificate Applied and a reduction in the overall number of teacher in the system will diminish capacity in schools to support those most at risk, not build it.
INTO general secretary John Carr said the NEWB needed to focus on solutions to the school absenteeism crisis – instead of being what it called largely a “data collection agency”.
He said smaller class sizes could play a key role in preventing school absences.
The most recent figures from the NEWB show that 27,000 primary and 28,000 post-primary students are missing school every day.
Under school attendance legislation, schools are required to notify the NEWB when a student is missing for 20 days or more.