The Netherlands has compulsory education for children until the age of 16. The monitoring solutions of school attendance have so far not been too uniform or integrated. The introduction of a digital register for highschool students who are skipping lessons will lead to administrative costs savings of 4.5 million Euros, according to a Dutch deputy minister in her statement on Tuesday 19th of May in a session of the Dutch parliament. The introduction of such a portal should take place this year.

Currently the absence of a highschool student should be notified by schools to the student's municipality of residence. This is a complicated process since schools have students from many different municipalities. The reporting process will be hugely simplified by this centralization action. A digital portal should lead to increased effectiveness through improved visibility and thus intervention for education inspectors.

Numerous occurrences of absence without leave have proven to be a reliable indicator of a student dropping out of secondary school altogether. A centralized system is a step forward in the attempt to reduce disallowed absence. In the Dutch educational system parents are held responsible for the school attendance of their children.  They are fined in structural cases of absence. More transparency is therefore warranted, a monitoring trinity of schools, inspectors and parents should be formed, with access to the aforementioned portal. A mobile application can help monitoring students' attendance (as used in some schools).