A few days ago we talked about how the permissiveness of parents with their children, resulting in negligence, could be judged and condemned.
One of the most frequent neglects in certain social fields is that of allowing school absenteeism. That is to say, don't worry if the children don't go to school. Education is compulsory in Spain from 6 to 16 years old, and is the responsibility of the parents or legal guardians of minors who attend school.
That children do not go to their school by system is what happens in certain neighborhoods of Badalona (Barcelona), where absenteeism is high. Until 10 families can be fined 3000 euros for this fact, after discussing the problem between city council, educators, mediators, center directors and social services.
Before reaching the fine other measures will be tried, although from what I can know about this topic, there are many possibilities that they are "lost cases", especially if we talk about total absenteeism. After a declaration of insolvency, no attention to requirements and extensions of the judicial bureaucracy, will even make the cases prescribed.
In any case, this sanction mechanism has already been carried out in another Barcelona town, El Prat de Llobregat. When it began to be imposed 2 years ago, the level of absenteeism dropped considerably. It is in cases of partial absenteeism and family nucleus not totally unstructured when something can be done about it.
However, it is sad to have to reach this situation, derived from complex educational and social reasons. They are different cases with the same result of absenteeism, but I do not know if more painful when absenteeism is allowed or encouraged by the family or when this fact is simply unknown by parents until they reach "higher instances" to warn them.
