THOUSANDS of pupils are persistently absent from the region's classrooms, latest government figures have shown.
Education leaders say it is vital children attend school regularly and are warning that education welfare officers will take action to tackle repeated absence.
In Hull, 1,590 pupils from the city's primary and secondary schools missed 38 or more sessions, according to latest figures for autumn last year and spring this year.
The percentage of persistent absentees, at 5.2 per cent, puts Hull among the worst 15 authorities of 150 nationally.
In the East Riding, 1,395, or 3.6 per cent, missed 38 or more sessions and were classed as persistently absent.
Mike Whale, secretary of the Hull branch of the NUT, said: "Persistent absence is a problem for the pupil and it becomes a knock-on problem for the teacher.
"There's a general perceived wisdom that any absence damages a child's education.
"Clearly, persistent and long-term absence is quite serious and most schools don't have the resources to deal with someone who has been off for long periods.
"It becomes a problem to teachers when a student comes back after a long absence."
The figures showed more than 950 children were persistently absent in the city's secondary schools and 630 in primaries.
Mr Whale said: "A few days off here and there does not cause any major problem, but once it goes beyond a couple of weeks, serious gaps will appear and those children will probably carry that with them right through school.
"For some children who are ill, that cannot be avoided, but if that's not the case it should not be happening.
"Absence is also one of the criteria Ofsted looks at when inspectors judge school statistics."
The overall absence figure for Hull, which has 30,295 pupils, was 4.8 per cent.
Authorised absence was 3.3 per cent and unauthorised absence was 1.5 per cent.
Hull City Council was unable to comment on yesterday's figures.
In the East Riding, 958 secondary school pupils were persistently absent, plus 405 in primaries.
Councillor Julie Abraham, East Riding portfolio holder for children, young people and education, insisted schools and welfare officers would take action to deal with persistent absentees in the area's schools.
She said: "It is important that children and young people are attending school regularly to ensure that they do not miss out on important parts of the curriculum.
"Without a sound education, and particularly in English and maths, the choices that are available to young people at the end of their school days will be severely limited.
"It is imperative families and carers ensure their children attend every day.
"Schools and education welfare officers will follow up on persistent offenders and take action as appropriate."
In the East Riding, which has a pupil population of 39,235, the overall absence figure was four per cent.
Authorised absence was 3.4 per cent and unauthorised absence was 0.6 per cent.
Sam Tomkins, East Riding Council's principal education welfare officer, said persistent absence is reducing in the area.
In 2012-13, persistent absence in East Riding primaries was 2.6 per cent, while in secondary schools it was 7.4 per cent.
Ms Tomkins said: "These figures show a year-on-year fall in the percentage of pupils who are persistently absent from schools in the East Riding.
"The current threshold for pupils to be defined as being persistently absent is when their attendance falls below 85 per cent attendance.
"However, the Department for Education is consulting on whether to reduce this measure to 90 per cent from January.
"Schools in the East Riding, parents and the education welfare service have worked hard to improve the school attendance of children and the education welfare service utilise legal tools at their disposal to ensure each child's right to a full education is upheld where this may be at risk."
