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Parents prosecuted for not sending children to school

Aug 04, 2008 News

Six parents were successfully prosecuted for not sending their children to school as the Ministry of Education attempts to deal with the issue of none and low attendance at schools countrywide.
This is according to Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, who was at the time addressing supplementary questions on the education sector in the National Assembly last week.
These prosecutions were done during the years 2000 to 2008.
However, the number of successful prosecutions was deemed unproductive by the People’s National Congress Reform’s (PNCR) side of the house.
PNCR Member of Parliament Mervyn Williams addressed the questions to the Education Minister.
He asked that the minister explain to the National Assembly the ways in which  his ministry is prepared to deal with the issue of none and low attendance of children at Government schools.
Responding to Williams, Baksh said that the Schools Welfare Services department was reintegrated in the Ministry of Education in 2000.
In 2007, he added, the Schools Welfare Services department was reorganized and strengthened.
To address this issue, this unit was given several activities to carry out.
“Monthly reports of absence of students from schools are sent to Schools Welfare Officers by head teachers, while welfare officers are required to visit schools regularly to check the attendance registers and to ascertain attendances of less than 75 percent,” Minister Baksh said.
The schools welfare officers, he added, are to conduct the necessary home and follow-up visits, make telephone calls, and send out warning letters to defaulting parents and guardians.
Minister Baksh told the National Assembly that operation ‘CARE’ (Care Assessment Respect Educate) campaigns are carried out in different communities in order to investigate truancy and/or prosecute defaulting parents.
“Seminars on various topics, including parental education and building a good self esteem, are regularly conducted to encourage attendance at school. The National School Attendance programs will be reactivated, awarding regional schools annually for best attendance.”
Encouragement to attend schools through the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will also be in place, the minister said.
This will entail giving incentives for best improved attendance at schools.
Counselling sessions for negligent parents and regular absentees will also be accelerated, Minister Baksh said.
“Letters will be sent out before examination periods to Regional Examination Officers and Principal Education Officers to ensure that planed and supervised activities are promoted in schools to alleviate low attendance,” Minister Baksh said.
He noted that 26 new School Welfare Officers will be appointed through the Public Service Commission.
“We have already designed a special training program (two-year part-time in-service) for these new recruits to make them more efficient and effective in their performance in the school system,” he said.
Addressing complaints about the non-attendance of children at schools to work on farms at Orealla, Corentyne, River Berbice, Minister Baksh said that the Regional Education Department of Region Six has not reported any such cases.
“A community outreach was recently conducted at Orealla, and one of the activities that were associated with the exercise was issues and concerns by the residents. In the presence of the Village Captain, two issues were raised. These were the need for CXC text books and science equipment for the new school year. These have since been dispatched to the school,” Baksh said.
The Regional Education Department will be requested to monitor the situation of non-attendance on a regular basis and to report any cases where children are engaged in labour activities on farms. (Tusika Martin)

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