Ministries join forces to combat school absenteeism

In a bid to "combat intergenerational poverty", the education and family ministries are launching an incentive to encourage parents to ensure that their children attend school regularly.

The incentive will reward €400 per year as a 'Child supplement' for the first three children in a family, with €200 for the fourth child onwards.

"Education is the main pillar to combat poverty," family minister Michael Farrugia said. "We want to break this vicious cycle of certain families falling into the trap of social benefits, one generation after another."

The child supplement will be offered over and above the children's allowance. It will be implemented across both government and independent schools. The project is already underway, though attendance figures will of course only be possible to calculate as the scholastic year goes on.

Acknowledging that the process of identifying problem areas in school attendance will take time, Education Minister Evarist Bartolo said that, before sanctioning those who fail to attend, parents and educators should work together to ensure that the school atmosphere inspires students to keep attending.

"However, we will be adopting a zero tolerance policy towards habitual absenteeism," Bartolo added.