Thirty-four students have been "excluded" from Northland schools for offences ranging from continual disobedience to assaults on teachers and bringing weapons and drugs to school.
While most of the excluded students are teenagers, two are under the age of 10.
One student has been out of school for more than a year, while seven more have been out of school for six to 12 months.
Northland's exclusion rate fell slightly over the 2000-2009 period, however, it remained consistently above the national exclusion rate throughout the period.
Ministry data from 2009 shows Northland's exclusion rate (2.86 per 1000 students) was slightly above the national rate (2.4 per 1000 students).
Only Manawatu/Wanganui (4 per 1000 students) and Southland (3.5 per 1000 students) had higher exclusion rates than Northland.
Boys made up most of the exclusions in Northland (four boys as compared to 1.6 girls per 1000 students), and Maori students were more highly represented than Pakeha students (4.7 Maori as compared to 1.3 Pakeha per 1000 students).
Northland principals say exclusions are a last resort and not a decision taken lightly by school boards. Serious misbehaviour is first met with stand-downs and suspensions, and students are only excluded in the most serious of cases.
Northland Secondary School Principals Association chairman Grant Burns said in making a decision to exclude, principals and boards had to weigh what was best for the individual student against what was best for the school.
"Such a step can have life-long - even multigenerational - consequences for the student concerned, the family and the wider community," Mr Burns said.
However, concerns for the individual student did not change the fact that mainstream schools were not equipped to deal with violent offenders. "They pose a safety risk to staff, other students and themselves and, as a consequence, schools have little choice other than to exclude them," he said. "Once a student is excluded from a school, the principal must attempt to find a place for the student at another school. This is rarely successful, as schools are not obliged to accept excluded students. The student then moves on to 'Alternative Education' or, if there is enough family support, Correspondence School."
Tai Tokerau Principals' Association president David Rogers said some schools refused to use stand-downs, suspensions and exclusions. "Schools pay a high cost in terms of personnel and resources for the commitment they make yet there is no apparent will for society in general to get in alongside schools and help.
"It seems rather that it is more appealing to look at the statistics and shake our heads."
Manaia View School principal Leanne Otene said schools were often under-resourced and given insufficient support from government departments. "For every one of the kiddies excluded, suspended or stood down there is probably a great deal of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes for that child and his or her whanau," she said. "We need to remember these children are not merely statistics, but children who possibly have very complex issues. I have not excluded this year but I have been in that terrible position of taking that stand to get urgent action from the appropriate organisations for that child and whanau."
Exclusions
2 - aged under 10
2.86 - Northland average
2.4 - National average
34 Northland students kicked out of school
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