Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says a rise in attendance rates is a step in the right direction, but still not good enough.
Attendance data shows in Term 4 of 2024, 58.1 percent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.1 percentage points from 53 percent in Term 4 of 2023.
David Seymour Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The government has set a target of 80 percent of students present more than 90 percent of the term by 2030.
Every region recorded an increase in attendance, with Seymour highlighting North and West Auckland, and South and South-West Auckland recording the biggest improvements of 6.6 percent each.
Seymour said he was encouraged to see attendance rates continuing to increase steadily for all students, including those facing the most socio-economic barriers.
"Attending school is the first step towards achieving positive educational outcomes. Positive educational outcomes lead to better health, higher incomes, better job stability and greater participation within communities. These are opportunities that every student deserves," he said.
"This trend must continue as schools begin investigating reasons for absence and supporting students back to school, as outlined in the Stepped Attendance Response."
Schools will be required to do so from Term 1, 2026, but Seymour said schools who do not already follow a similar approach were encouraged to start earlier.
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