Tim Smith, to cut-down on truancy in Bermuda's public schools. It must have been a shock for the public to learn from this newspaper yesterday that CedarBridge Academy could have a day when truancy was as high as 40 percent.

Clearly a school cannot function properly with that kind of absenteeism and it is very disruptive of the education of individual students. Educating Bermuda's young people has to be paramount in today's complex world and, as the Minister has said, a child who is not in school is missing out on knowledge, opportunities and skills.

A child not in school cannot be taught by that school no matter how good the school, the first class facilities Bermuda has provided at the new CedarBridge or the teachers. It is almost unbelievable that so many students could stay home on one day.

We have said before that we regard truancy as a parent-guardian problem and that it is not good enough just to send young people off in the morning. Those in charge of minors must be certain that they actually get to school and stay there. To that end we think Mr. Smith has made the correct decision to enforce penalties against parents. As of September when schools reconvene after the Summer any parent whose child commits "persistent truancy'' will face fines of up to $200 a day under the Education Act. Mr. Smith has said that he is prepared to enforce the fines.

However this is not entirely a penalty situation because there is a very attractive prize for those who maintain good attendance. Government will pay full Bermuda College tuition for students who maintain a 95 percent attendance record in public secondary schools. We see that as a great incentive to parents who are interested in a child's education and concerned about college fees, to get their children to school and keep them there. If they have a B average, 95 percent attendance record and get accepted by the college, which they are almost certain to do with that average, they will get the full $2,300 a year paid for them.

The student also has to agree to be drug tested which we find somewhat confusing especially since the details of the testing have yet to be worked out with the National Drugs Commission.

Some of the facts which have emerged during this assault on truancy certainly indicate a lax approach to attendance in the past. Procedures are to be put in place now including computerised attendance monitoring. We had assumed, and we suspect that large numbers of the public had assumed, that there were already very careful attendance checks in the schools. The public has a right to wonder what the very large staff at the Ministry and Department of Education has been doing.