The Sydney education region, including the CBD, Bondi and Sutherland, has completed a trial involving 40 schools where about 200,000 truancy text messages were sent at a cost of $16,000, the Daily Telegraph reported this week.

Interest in the pilot scheme was so high that some schools from outside the region wanted to participate.

At a cost of about 6 cents per message, the trial proved to be much cheaper than previous plans used by some schools where set-up costs alone were as much as $15,000.

According to the newspaper, the massive cost savings of the new technology will allow more schools to run the truancy text message service.

“Of course, most parents would not be surprised to get a message from school saying their child had not turned up – as they would know exactly where their child is and why. But for parents wanting to keep tabs on a problem child, this technology can short circuit a major crisis,” the article said.

“Some children will decide not to wag because they know the school will alert their parent or carer as soon as class begins.”