Almost 70,000 fewer school days were lost in the last school year than in the previous year due to pupils missing school, new figures from the National Education and Welfare Board indicate.
The numbers, presented to the Public Accounts Committee yesterday by the board’s chief executive, also show that the number of students sitting the Leaving Cert has risen by more than 6 per cent, to 88 per cent, in the past eight years.
Clare Ryan said the improvements in school days lost and the percentage sitting the Leaving showed the “important return on the State’s investment”.