COUNCIL bosses in Blackburn with Darwen say the timing of the Eid celebrations led to a drop in school attendances in the borough.

According to latest figures, there was a slight increase in the number of “persistent absentees” during the Autumn 2007 and Spring 2008 terms in the borough.

The percentage of persistent truants rose in primary schools from 2.7per cent to 3.1per cent, and went up slightly in secondary schools from 7.4per cent to 7.5per cent.

But the overall number of half-days lost to truancy decreased from 51,797 to 49,758.

Councillor Chris Thayne, executive member for children's services, said some parents had taken their children out of school to celebrate Eid in Autumn 2007. The celebration had fallen in half term the previous year.

He said: “A very slight fall in school attendance in Blackburn with Darwen during the last school year was the result of Eid taking place during school term time in autumn 2007 and is reflected in other local authorities with a similar population to our own.

“We know that good attendance helps academic attainment, develops good work habits and supports the development of good social skills and supportive networks for pupils and we are continuing to work closely with schools to help them improve attendance levels.”

Salim Mulla, of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, said the biannual Eid Days should be treated as a holiday in the same way as Christmas and Easter.

He said parents taking their children abroad during term time were responsible for the increase in absenteeism.

Elsewhere in Lancashire, truancy in primary schools increased slightly but persistent absenteeism in secondary schools went down from seven to six per cent.

County councillor Vali Patel, cabinet member for schools, said: "I am encouraged to see that once again the absenteeism figures for schools in Lancashire are below the average figures for both England and the north-west region.”