Ban on lunch passes to plug truancy

The days of traditional school lunchtime passes appear to be over in the Eastern Bay of Plenty as schools and police work together to cut back on truancy.

Secondary schools in Kawerau and Opotiki have stopped issuing lunch passes to students and police say the ban has already resulted in less trouble being experienced in town centres.

Whakatane retailers are also being urged to report any school-age children shopping in the Strand or Kopeopeo during school hours.

Senior Sergeant Keith Parsons said children were not given lunch passes to go shopping and police were also hardening their stance on long-term truancy by targeting parents.

"Parents who do not send their kids to school will be prosecuted - we can take them to court and we will," he said.

Both Kawerau College principal Steve Hocking and Senior Sergeant Mark Van Der Kley said the ban on lunch passes was working well.

Mr Van Der Kley said there were no longer any problems in the town centre and retailers were reporting any students seen there during school hours.

- NZPA