Daily school attendance dropped to 73% on the final day of the third school term last week when 200,000 children were absent.
Official figures show 744,000 children should have been in class last Friday but only 544,000 turned up.
Earlier that week attendance rates were 83%-84% for the Monday-Wednesday, dropping to 81% on the Thursday.
The number of children absent on each of those days ranged from about 120-140,000.
The figures for the year-to-date showed that attendance always dipped on the last day of the week and the final days of the previous two school terms also had attendance rates around 73%.
Parents have admitted taking their children out of school a day early before school holidays to avoid increased airfares.
The Government had previously said 94% daily attendance was required to meet its target of 80% of children attending school regularly each term.
The figures showed attendance last Friday was worst in South Auckland, where just 65% were present, while in the remainder of Auckland the attendance rate was 77%.
In Tai Tokerau, the rate was 66%.
Canterbury had the highest attendance rate last Friday at 79%.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour said the Government was seeking an attitude change around attendance.
“Attendance on Fridays is a particular problem, being frequently lower than any other day of the week. This is even more prominent before long weekends and holidays,” he said.
“The government can’t force parents to send their kids to schools, but what we’re doing is establishing a culture where school attendance is seen as essential.”
Seymour said the recently unveiled “STAR” system of graduated interventions for student absences would ensure schools, parents and students knew what was acceptable, and what the consequences would be if they did not meet expectations.
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