A pilot programme has been undertaken in the Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke area to help parents and guardians develop parenting skills to avoid their children becoming victims of child labour, truants or school drop-outs.
The programme is being undertaken by the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security’s School Retention and Child Labour Prevention Programme and it includes counselling for parents and children,
and providing children with hot meals, snacks and transportation to attend school.
In a press release issued yesterday, the ministry said workshops were held over the past week and catered for about 100 parents and guardians of pupils in the Kuru Kuru Nursery and Primary schools and the Dora Secondary School.
The release stated that the workshops were aimed at improving skills for effective parenting and to strengthen parents’ roles while advancing their understanding of different personalities as well as the psychological and emotional development of children.
“The importance of education, school attendance and participation in school activities and community development were underscored. Parents were also educated about contributory factors to child abuse, child labour, children’s rights, truancy and school dropout[s], and how these factors impact children’s educational development,” it added.
Initiatives such as the establishment of community parent squads to monitor and report on social issues that are negatively affecting the educational development of children with the aim of preventing and or eradicating such issues were explored. The possibility of establishing a mechanism to improve punctuality at schools and high student participation in school activities were also discussed.
According to the release, Lorene Baird, Permanent Secretary of the Labour Ministry, reflected on the positive results of traditional parenting while noting the challenges of the modern day approach.
She encouraged the participants to draw upon the best practices disseminated through the workshops to enhance their parenting their skills.
It added that Chief Education Officer of the Ministry of Education, Olato Sam, emphasised the adage that a community could raise a child while stressing the need for enhanced community support in parenting. He also said that the formation of community parent squads is a step in the right direction.
The ministry said the workshop was welcomed by parents, guardians and teachers, who expressed particular appreciation for the sessions on developing parenting skills, child abuse, child labour and the rights of the child. They also requested that such workshops be held regularly across the country.
