Considerable discrepancy between Education Ministry and UNICEF data on school attendance

There is considerable discrepancy between the data on school attendance made available by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF. According to the Ministry, 157 children do not attend school, while UNICEF says about 38,000 students are out of school, warned children’s ombudswoman Tamara Plamadeala, Info-Prim Neo reports. Tamara Plamadeala said the UNICEF statistics are for last year, but the situation hasn’t changed much. At least one in ten children does not go to school. The fact that a child goes to classes once a month does not mean that he attends school. This may soon lead to illiteracy, said the ombudswoman. Deputy Minister of Education Tatiana Poting said the figure made public by UNICEF is inflated, but admitted that they encounter difficulties in collecting information about school attendance. Tatiana Potang also said that a project under implementation will enable to count the children going to school so as to determine the real figures.