New PISA figures show that 28 percent of Danish 15-year-olds have skipped a full school day within the past two weeks, a record level that has prompted concern from Education Minister Magnus Heunicke.
The numbers come from the latest PISA survey, in which pupils also answer questions about their everyday school life. DR reported on September 8 that truancy among Danish 15-year-olds is now at its highest recorded level.
Besides the 28 percent who skipped a whole day, 30 percent said they had skipped one or more lessons. A further 60 percent reported arriving late for school within the same two-week period.
The share of pupils who skip school has risen sharply since 2012, when the question was first included in PISA. According to Tidende, around one in ten pupils reported skipping a full day in 2012, meaning self-reported truancy has almost tripled.
TV2 reports the same figures and notes that both lateness and absence have increased markedly since 2012. The survey also found that Danish 15-year-olds perform historically poorly in reading, math and science.
Minister calls the figures worrying
Heunicke, of the Social Democrats, told DR that he finds the truancy worrying. He linked it to a broader loss of authority and a lack of respect for teachers who prepare lessons and go to work to teach.
He added that politicians have a responsibility to ensure that a culture of skipping school does not take hold. Heunicke summoned a large number of organizations to a crisis meeting on Tuesday afternoon after the survey showed a marked drop in academic results.
Andreas Rasch-Christensen, research director at VIA University College, described the level of truancy as alarming. He sits on the steering group for the Danish PISA consortium and said schools must talk thoroughly with pupils and their parents about what attending school means.
In central Svendborg, several parents told DR they were surprised by the numbers. Kim Skov Holm, a service technician whose children attended the folkeskole, said he could not rule out that his own children had skipped class.
Lone Lund Thomsen, a doctor, said the primary responsibility lies with parents, who should know if their children have high absence rates. She added that schools carry a secondary responsibility to address the problem.
At Brøndbyvester Skole, pupils said absence is common. Wilma Kaaber Bossen, a ninth-grade pupil, said many in her class skip school and then fall behind with homework, which pushes grades lower.
Her classmate Elias Kerim Kaya said he believes academic skills suffer when pupils stay away. He pointed to a lack of patience as one reason some do not take school seriously.
The truancy questions have been part of PISA since 2012, allowing comparison across survey rounds. The 2026 responses mark the highest levels recorded for both skipped days and lateness.
