By IANS,
London : Truancy rates at a school in the British city of Southampton have dropped after parents were offered free Indian meals to stop their children from skipping lessons.
Truancy was reduced by half after the scheme was launched at Glenfield Infant School, following a similar success story at another school in the port city in southern England.
Glenfield, where attendance rates dropped below national levels last year, offered parents the chance to win a sumptuous curry meal worth 40 pounds each if their children missed fewer than five percent of their classes.
Every child with a 95 percent attendance record, as well as those whose truancy rates had fallen dramatically, had their names entered into a draw under a scheme involving local Indian restaurants.
As a result, nine children with good attendance records enjoyed a spicy dinner at a city restaurant called POSH, head teacher Joanne Dorricott said.
“We are delighted with the way it’s going because the number of persistent absentee children has decreased by more than half,” said Dorricott, who came up with the idea.
“We don’t want parents to think they are no good at getting their children to school, but we need to embed how important it is to get children to school at this age. Otherwise we have lost them.”
However, a local teachers’ union spokesman said the scheme amounted to bribery.
“It is a legal requirement to bring your children to school. But this gives out the message that you don’t do anything in life unless there is a reward,” said Ron Clooney.
“If a parent doesn’t send their child to school they should get a prison sentence not a curry. It’s bribery, totally inappropriate and bordering on lunacy.”
Manoj Raichura, owner of POSH Indian restaurant, said: “It’s sad in a way that we have to do this but we are doing it for the future of these children.
“If we can do something good and it helps just one or two kids avoid ending up on the streets or doing drugs then at least we can say we tried. I think it’s excellent news and we want to increase their attendance even more,” he told the Southern Daily Echo.
The Indian Midday Meal scheme, where children are provided free meals in schools, is credited with helping achieve a massive increase in attendance rates in Tamil Nadu.