Unofficially not present; (playing) truant (4)

I believe the answer is:

awol

(Other definitions for awol that I've seen before include "gone missing" , "unaccounted for" , "Army offence of being missing from duty, briefly" , "Absent without leave (abbrev.)" , "Absent without leave (abbr.)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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