There is a reason why schools are a part of the everyday routine. Learning is a process that needs consistency, and if there are frequent gaps, efficiency may get affected.
Absenteeism has severe consequences, whether your child is in a primary school in Dubai or has reached the high school level.
It would break the learning flow, and your child wouldn’t grasp the concepts well. Hence, every Dubai Indian School keeps some minimum percentage criteria for students.
Students who are chronically absent and miss more than 10% of their classes are likely to lag academically. They will often lose track of what is being taught in the classroom, and their overall growth gets affected. Moreover, they will not attend regular skill-building classes or other co-curricular activities that help refine their personality. So, to ensure that a child learns and performs to the best of his efficiency, parents and teachers should use some strategies to address student absenteeism.
Strategies to prevent student absenteeism
Set The Expected Attendance
No matter how much you try, there are a few days when students cannot attend school for valid reasons. Thus, it is only fair to keep some percentage of days when the students are allowed to miss school if they have a reason for it. Keep the sick days and breaks in mind while finalising this percentage, and make sure the students stick to it and do not make it a habit to miss school every other day.
School culture
Sometimes, the reason why a student is not regular to school is that he feels uncomfortable there. Every school should have a happy and nurturing environment where all the students feel comfortable and involved. There should be discipline but no strict punishments that might scare students and deject them from school. If they do not like visiting school every day, they might throw tantrums or make excuses for not attending school. Parents should visit the school personally before enrolment to ensure their child gets a happy environment.
Supportive Routine
One has to follow a supportive routine at home to avoid absenteeism in school! They should eat healthily to ensure they do not get sick, because of which they would have to miss school. Furthermore, they should follow proper routines to sleep well and complete their homework on time. Following a productive routine will eliminate any chances of students throwing tantrums to avoid going to school. Set a fixed time for all daily tasks so that the child always stays organized enough to avoid frequent absenteeism at school.
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Talk to the Child
You should talk to your child and find the right reason if nothing else works. Give your child the comfort zone to discuss their issues with you. Open discussions can help if absenteeism is because of peer pressure or related problems that a child faces at school. You can provide an apt solution or counsel the children to solve the problem they might be facing. Once they are sorted and have found the right solutions, they will not miss school unnecessarily. Moreover, if they experience an uneasy situation in the future, they would come to the parents or teachers and discuss the issues rather than deciding to miss school.
Parents should communicate the significance of regular attendance to children, and schools should also conduct special sessions for awareness. Tell them how it can help improve their academic performance and overall growth. Other than this, one of the strategies is for parents and teachers to work collaboratively to find the reason behind absenteeism. Once you have found the reason, you can address the issue and eliminate the chances of children not attending school regularly.
