Prime Minister Erna Solberg wants to introduce a notification and follow-up duty in the primary and lower secondary school systems to reduce absences.
“Absence in secondary school is a major challenge. About 9,000 of the 10th graders have more than 15 days of absence during the school year. This is more than three weeks away from the classroom and classmates,” Erna Solberg said during her visit to Young High summer camp on Sunday.
In order to reduce absenteeism in primary and secondary schools, Høyre proposes to introduce a notification and follow-up duty for the schools. Solberg believes that the notification must be made already on the first day of undocumented absence.
Some schools already have routines to notify parents when children do not attend school. According to Solberg, not all of these systems are good enough, and she believes follow-up responsibility is equally important.
“We are very concerned that 25 percent do not complete high school. Then we must go to the cause and ask: Could we have intervened earlier?,” says Solberg to NTB.
The prime minister believes it is important to address the absence from the beginning of development, in order to reduce the knowledge gaps many people are receiving. The goal is for as many people as possible to complete higher education, which for most people lays the foundation for further working life.
“The young experience a lot of pressure, stress and things there are that happen. Then it is important to be seen – that someone at an early stage questions why you are gone, whether you have problems or need help,” says Solberg.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
