Nearly 6,000 students are absent from school for a long time: the province wants to tackle the problem

In the 2020-2021 school year, the West Flemish schools had 158,814 students. Of these, 9,321 students accumulated more than 30 half-days of absence during the school year. That is almost 6 percent of all students. Of these, 2,176 were illegally absent. Nearly 6,000 students were absent for more than three weeks due to illness.

Not just truant

The reasons for absences are very diverse. It’s not just about truancy. A number of young people stay at home out of fear, are already a caregiver, grow up in a family with financial problems, are gifted or already have a child. The Province wants to pay more attention to the accompanying school policy, because it is convinced that young people who are often absent risk a significant academic disadvantage.

“If for some reason young people do not make it to school, they should receive the appropriate help and support,” it said in a press release. The Province has prepared a scenario ‘Education for sick pupils’ and the action plan ‘Absent at school’. It contains tips for absorbing and supervising young people who accumulate absences and which organizations can play a role in this.

It is an initiative together with the Network Together Against School Dropout West Flanders and the Learning Networks for Youth Aid and Education.