New Zealand principals voice alarm as students fail to return to school after Covid lockdowns

One Auckland school has taken dozens of pupils off its register amid fears some are forced to find work as cost of living crisis hits

New Zealand school principals are raising the alarm that students are falling off the rolls, as a wave of absenteeism follows the disruption of Covid-19.

In 2021, schools in Auckland and parts of the North Island were shut down for weeks or months as the country went into lockdown. Since then, however, principals say a worrying number of students have not made it back to school, or are not attending regularly. Vulnerable students are falling through the gaps and disappearing, despite schools visiting homes and contacting families and neighbours to find them.