Minister of Education Shaik Baksh said parents need to get involved in their children’s education, show commitment and work in partnership with the ministry to achieve success.
Teachers also need to show greater commitment and give at least one hour of their time per week to assist slow learners, Baksh said while addressing a group of some 500 parents during a Cabinet Outreach exercise at the JS Chandisingh Secondary School, Region Six.
According to Government Information Agency (GINA) release, he said the ministry is being re-organized to better supervise schools, adding that the results at recent examinations show what is being done in the classrooms.
“We cannot afford to have children being left behind. Far too many children are leaving schools functionally illiterate,” Baksh said.
According to the GINA release, the minister acknow-ledged the problems with literacy and numeracy in schools and pointed out that retired teaches will be re-employed to teach at levels one and two to deal with this particular problem. However, he said, parents need to be vigilant and be the eyes and ears of the ministry.
Baksh added that the ministry is looking to recruit graduate Physical Education instructors to work with students and is collaborating with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport since it has recognized that education is about shaping a rounded individual.
Parents at the gathering enquired about the distribution system for school uniform vouchers, noting that some persons in need were being denied. In addition, they expressed concern about the timely distribution of textbooks to schools, disciplinary action against teachers and students and sanitary maintenance.
Baksh said when the ministry is reorganized there will be better supervision and all concerns would be addressed. In responding to a question about corporal punishment, he said this was not banned in schools but it is to be administered under the rules outlined by the Ministry of Education.
Meanwhile Baksh also responded to questions about water and electricity. He told residents a course of action has been worked out to restore normalcy to the power supply in the area and the Skeldon Modernization Project will be generating around 7.5 megawatts of power to the system to aid the water supply. Further, he said the well at Albion would be restored to increase the water supply.
