PN urges special attention to school children after long absences

The Nationalist Party (PN) welcomed the drop in absenteeism in state schools but went on to insist that this challenged needed to be approached as more than a mere issue of numbers.

“Absenteeism issues need to be addressed even from the point of view of education quality, particularly in view of the Teachers’ Union’s position over the past few days,” a statement issued by education speaker George Pullicino read.

The statement added that students were successful not just if their parents were given money for sending them to school, but through methods that strengthen their education.

“The party has noticed the critique made by MUT over the fact that the government did not make the necessary preparations to ensure that students who are often absent can integrate with fellow students,” Pullicino continues.

He went on to insist that the government should strengthen necessary resources in classes and schools to address the challenge of absenteeism directly. It specified that the most important thing to strengthen was the human resources aspect, to help children by means of social workers, counsellors and psychologists

“We propose that a personalized program is started for students who return to the classroom after years of absenteeism. Unfortunately many of these children would have developed unsuitable attitudes and as such, they would require individual attention rather than immersing them into the classroom environment with other students straight away.”

Pullicino specified that the new policy should be accompanied by an investment in personnel to ensure monitoring of these children and their progress.