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30. 08. 12. - 15:55
SMS against school truancy
In an attempt to cut school truancy levels some schools are introducing a text messaging service notifying parents if their children are truanting class.
Susanne Brandsteidl, from the Vienna Education Authority, confirmed trials of the SMS scheme would be carried out and that schools would be monitoring the number of school children who return later from school holidays without a valid excuse.
Brandsteidl said: "All children should be back at school on Monday 3rd of September. We do not know how many school children will be missing from class. If it is just 15 in the whole of Vienna we will be going into every individual case. If there are very high numbers we will have to carry out a wider investigation."
The current plans to introduce the SMS truancy warning system whereby parents are notified if their child is not in class has already been implemented in certain HTL and AHS schools.
However, it is being considered to implement it in schools throughout the whole of Vienna.
Brandsteidl said: "Schools will have to want to go ahead with this initiative. We do not want to impose these actions against their will."
In addition parents will have to agree to give over their mobile telephone numbers and other data to the schools.
