Principal not in favour of suggestion for education officers to tackle truancy

 

President of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, Linvern Wright, does not believe Prime Minister Andrew Holness's suggestion of deputising education officers as truancy officers will effectively address the issue of children not attending schools.

 

Speaking on Sunday at the Jamaica Labour Party's annual conference, Mr. Holness said truancy officers will examine school registers to identify students who are not attending schools and visit their homes to get them to return to the classroom.

 

But in an interview with Radio Jamaica News, Mr. Wright said the issue of truancy would be better managed with social workers. 

 

"That kind of situation where a child doesn't come to school on time is something that's already being dealt with by the guidance counsellors. What is happening is that many of the guidance counsellors cannot find these children, and what maybe would make more sense is for the government to keep education officers assisting schools and helping us to improve instruction and employ social workers now who can investigate these matters from a standpoint of their understanding of the social circumstances of the children," he said, noting that many students who skip school are facing various social and emotional issues.

 

Mr. Wright, who is principal of William Knibb Memorial High School, said parents are sometimes unaware that their children are not attending school. He added that some students leave their homes in uniform but do not go to school. 

 

"Yesterday, for example, I had boys who were at a house close by [the school]. We realised they weren't coming, but the parents were sending them," he recalled. 

 

Furthermore, the principal pointed out that each education officer has responsibility for several schools, which would amount to hundreds of students who would need their individual support in the way the government has suggested.