Tuesday, August 07, 2007 Truancy law gets new, longer name By Grace L. Plata
THE proposed city ordinance that has earned the flak from child rights' advocates because of the Anti-Truancy Law that gives a bad tag on children, will be making a comeback in the 15th Council Tuesday with a new, and a much longer name.
Proposed by the committee on education chaired by Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta, the ordinance is renamed "Ensuring Class Attendance Among School children Through the Prevention of Truancy, in the Protection of the Child's Right to Education."
In the past, the proposed ordinance became controversial when various groups questioned the use of the word "truancy" and the tag of "truant" on the offender, citing its implications and the possible negative effect the ordinance will have on the schoolchildren who are tagged as truant. Thus, the matter was put on hold.
Last April, however, Acosta vowed to pursue the passage of the ordinance upon reelection, saying there is really a need for the legislation to keep children in school.
The increasing number of school dropouts, especially boys and the low reading and comprehension skills of students in the city are situations that Acosta deem can be addressed by the said law.
Acosta said if there is a law that will outline specific tasks and responsibilities of schools and the community, schoolchildren will have a more effective support system.
"We are solution-oriented that is why we cannot stop these efforts even when there are those in disagreement due to the use of words," Acosta said.
