Internal reports show Covid, distrust of the government and increased mental illness contributed to last year's terrible truancy figures.
The Education Ministry initially refused to provide the reports from organisations it contracts to provide attendance services but relented after RNZ complained to the Ombudsman.
The reports show what the services were facing when unjustified absences nudged six percent in term two 2022 and the number of truancy cases jumped 40 percent to reach nearly 29,000.
Education correspondent John Gerritsen spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.
