Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
Education Ministry to get tougher on truancy
Parents will be placed before the courts – Minister Baksh
As the age-old issue of parents not sending their children to school continues in certain parts of the country, the Ministry of Education is once again gearing up to effectively tackle the problem.
Speaking to Kaieteur News on this issue yesterday, Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, said that during the course of this week, his ministry will embark on an intensive outreach programme which will target specific areas around the country in an effort to curb the prevailing problem of parents/guardians not sending their children to an educational institution.
The ministry has already identified areas such as Wales/Patentia and Cane Grove Squatting Settlements, Riverview/Mahaica and Black Bush Polder, among other areas, as places where it is believed that there is a high incidence of truancy.
Baksh said that, during the course of the outreach programme, officers from the ministry will be present in these communities, and if it is found that children are indeed not attending school, then their parents/guardians or whomever is taking care of them will be taken into police custody and will be placed before the courts.
Baksh explained that the programme will place special emphasis and attention on Regions 3, 4 and 6.
According to Minister Baksh, the programme will last for a couple of weeks, after which the Education Ministry will get a feedback from the Regional Education Officer in the various areas on exactly what is occurring in the communities as it relates to children attending school on a regular basis.
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