Yesterday, Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai addressed the United Nations as part of her campaign to ensure free compulsory education for every child. Last October, the Taliban shot Malala as she sat on her school bus. She had been campaigning for girls’ rights to an education, obviously something the Taliban is strongly against as women are discriminated againist regularly in Pakistan. As she spoke to the United Nations yesterday, Malala stated; “I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child.”

It is kind of ironic that here in the UK, where education is free for every child, young people missed 3.7m school days in the autumn term 2011 (Department for Education report for state primary and secondary schools in England 2011/12). On a typical day in autumn 2011 around 55,600 youngsters missed school, and around 48,000 children missed a month or more of lessons, therefore making them “persistent absentees”. Although truancy rates have fallen slightly from 2010/11 to 2011/12, it is still a significant problem in UK schools. Malala fought to obtain something that some young people in the UK regularly go out of their way to avoid!

The reasons for truancy are complex. Research shows socioeconomic factors play a large role in determining student attendance. The lower the family income is, the higher the truancy rate. Some children are afraid of being reprimanded by their teachers for previous absences, and so they stay off for long periods. In some cases, children are shy and find school daunting – they suffer from school phobia. Bullying is also responsible for a large number of school absences and young people may stay away out of fear. Some children simply do not like going to school and are more interested in playing with their friends. They may find their school uninspiring and feel it does not benefit them. Sometimes, education is seen as ‘uncool’ and playing truant is a way of rebelling against society. Whatever the reasons, we need a committed and determined effort to examine the reasons why young people play truant so that we can take positive action to tackle this serious issue.

It must be difficult for Malala to understand why anyone would play truant. She risked her life and almost died for the sake of an education for herself and others. Perhaps it is because education is so freely available in the UK that we take it for granted and don’t appreciate its value. Maybe we need to get Malala to talk to schools around the country. I am sure her story would carry much weight and would help to highlight what a precious gift a free education is.