Immigrant parents make children skip school in Denmark

Copenhagen Post:

Many school children do not show up for the first days in school, because they are still on vacation with their parents in Turkey, Pakistan, or other countries

The country's schools have just opened their doors again after the summer holidays, but not every student is there to enter. Some schools report one in every five students missing from the schoolrooms.

Daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende reported that some children had not returned from vacation in their homelands with their parents. They might not return until weeks into the new school year.

'It's worrying, because school start is the most unfortunate moment for parents to keep their children away from school,' said Niels Egelund, professor at the Danish Pedagogic University. 'The students have a large gap. It's the time for introduction for all the new areas and subjects.'

Bilingual students have been discovered to do much worse at school than their all-Danish peers.

'When students are kept away from school start, it’s a big problem for their integration and can affect the children's educational level,' said Integration Minister Rikke Hvilshøj.

She said a committee would discuss methods to get parents to send their children to school from day one.

'These are children who have problems beforehand following what's going on at school,' Hvilshøj said. 'Not being there when the school year starts won't make it any easier. We need to make parents understand that if their children are to get a good chance in Denmark, they need to make sure that they are there when school starts.'

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