Students at a Wellington school were marked as absent during a strike last week. Photo: RNZ
Parents of students at a Wellington high school have raised concerns after their children were marked as absent due to last week's teachers' strike.
The parents told Morning Report, their children were marked as absent despite the fact the school was closed that day.
Teachers went on strike last week after pay talks stalled over a government offer of a 1 percent rise each year for three years.
One mother said she had been receiving her son's attendance record by email, said she noticed he had been marked absent on the day of the strike.
"I find it a bit odd they would mark him down as absent when it wasn't his choice not to be there."
President of the Secondary Principals Association, Louise Ānaru, told Morning Report, she suspected there had been a communication error at the school.
"A strike should not affect student attendance at all. Talking to my colleagues across different regions, we do know moving forward the instruction is if there's a year-level strike we register that so those students won't have their attendance affected."
Ānaru said any parent or student worried about an incorrect absence should approach the school or reach out to the Ministry of Education.
"Reach out to the school in the first instance and there will be someone there who can help."
The Ministry of Education told Morning Report in a statement, attendance coding was situational and depended on the context of each school day.
"Our role is to support schools in applying the correct codes consistently and fairly. The codes were simplified earlier this year and guidance has been offered to schools around applying them.
"If parents have concerns about how their child's attendance has been recorded, we encourage them to speak with their school directly. Schools are best placed to explain the context and rationale behind attendance decisions."
The spokesperson said if schools were unsure about which code to use in a particular situation they could contact their local Ministry of Education office for guidance.
"There have been instances where attendance has been incorrectly recorded - for example, students marked absent despite being late within the school's threshold, or attending approved offsite activities like university open days.
Additionally, when schools are closed due to teacher-only days or strikes, no attendance data should be recorded. We continue to work with schools to make sure these situations are coded correctly."
The school involved refused to comment when approached by Morning Report.
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