Pupils who won't learn

These pupils are those who have no desire to attend school because they lack the self discipline to realise that some education (however little or at whatever level) is desirable in this modern age.

In being forced to attend school, these pupils will be the ones who disrupt teachers and lessons and will thereby ruin the chances of those others who wish to gain something from their time at school.

It is about time that local and central government officials who persist in returning these pupils into schools have themselves the 'privilege' of dealing with them in a class of 30 day after day, week after week with little or no effective support.

They will then see for themselves how much time and effort is wasted in attempting to control these persistent truants and their frequently antisocial behaviour, foul language, threats, arrogance, bullying and general disruption of lessons.

Being a retired teacher I do not put all the blame for this increasingly poor state of affairs on the schools but on parents and do-gooders who feel it necessary to let children do as they please.

Unfortunately schools and classroom teachers are increasingly tied down by dictats from local and central government telling them how to run their establishments usually based on a softly-softly approach.

This of course emanates from those who are isolated by their cosy offices and distance from the chalkface.

Parents/guardians should be made to realise that they had the children and in actual fact in most cases were responsible for them during their formative pre-school years.

A lack of basic tolerable behaviour should be a cause for embarrassment for parents of troublemakers including truants as it shows some lack of control and discipline by the parents at an early foundational age.

Immediate fines/penalties should be imposed as soon as a child truants - it is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their child attends school for the required statutory time. Contrary to what is usually reported, the problem exists in varying degrees in all schools but some manage to escape publicity.

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