Wednesday, 28 August 2024

 Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (12:58): (1069) My constituency question is for the Minister for Education regarding the pressing issue in our public secondary schools, which is a significant rise in student absentees. Recent data shows that secondary students in Victoria missed an average of 5.6 weeks of school last year compared with 3.5 weeks in 2018, indicating a troubling trend well above pre-COVID levels. Over the last four years there has been a rapid 30 per cent increase in students aged 15 to 19 saying school is the biggest challenge of their lives and it places a heavy toll on their mental health. Could the minister please inform my constituents which specific measures the government is implementing to address the rise of absentees, particularly among year 9s, and support families and schools in managing this growing issue effectively? A federal inquiry has tackled chronic absenteeism and demonstrated absenteeism disproportionately impacts the poorest families, many of those in core western suburbs homes.