Are Attendance Officers the solution to truancy rates hitting a decade-high? We're not convinced. In an election year, the government is allocating $74m to tackle the issue, but is it too little, too late? With chronic absenteeism on the rise, it's clear that more needs to be done. In the Maxim column this week, researcher ‘Alapasita Pomelile explores the facts and explains why we need a multifaceted policy approach to address the root causes of truancy.