Teenia Harmon
9-17-09
In Queensland Australia parents could face the penalty for the children’s truancy. A new program is being enacted to ensure that children of the area are enrolled in and regularly attend one of the 30 schools in the system. The parents will be asked for proof of their child’s attendance, if they refuse or are not able to provide the necessary proof they will loss income support temporarily (up to 13 weeks). They are going to start testing this program in Logan because it is a diverse city. The trial will also include the surrounding indigenous tribes. The program is meant to “instill a since of mutual responsibility” when it comes to education, but those who “encourage their children to attend” but are not able to control them will not face penalty.
I kind of have mixed feelings about this news event. Part of me thinks that it is a good idea to have tough truancy policies, but I mainly feel like this is going overboard. If they are getting supplemental income, it is for a reason and taking it away seems harsh. It seems possible to me that perhaps the reason the child is not in school is because they are working to get income for their family, which is sad, but if that is what they have to do. I also think it is bad to expect the indigenous people to send their children to school when they have a whole different set of beliefs and customs. I think that it is a good idea to make children go to school but this system has no room for exceptions that are sometime necessary. I feel like they could come up with a much better policy that would not have the potential to cause so much damage.
SOURCE:http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26090336-421,00.html
1 comment:
I do believe that this is a bit much as far as taking away their funding. However, it is equally important for the children to be able to go to school. This is truly a touchy situation for the country. I also believe all policies and options have been evaluated so a win-win situation is put in place.
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