Education Minister Sonia Parag has warned that pupils who strike or attempt to strike teachers will be expelled, while announcing that her ministry is exploring legislation to address violence, bullying and other misconduct in schools.
Speaking at a meeting with parents, teachers and guardians at Lachmansingh Primary School, West Coast Berbice, Parag said educators must be protected and school rules respected.
“If any child hits a teacher or attempts to hit a teacher, that child will be expelled. Because there is a reason why you have rules and regulations. There is a reason why there’s authority, and something called authority,” she said, according to a Ministry of Education release.
The release did not outline the procedures that would govern such expulsions.
The meeting formed part of a national initiative to strengthen cooperation between homes and schools and encourage greater parental involvement in education.
Parag said active Parent-Teacher Associations were important to academic development and efforts to address violence, bullying and vaping.
“We are all part of this education ecosystem, so if we don’t engage and work together, it is our children who will be affected and we absolutely cannot have that,” she said.
According to the ministry, public consultations held across all regions since the launch of its anti-bullying and anti-violence campaign last year have generated more than 1,000 recommendations.
A multi-ministry task force is reviewing the submissions to develop standard operating procedures for responding to physical aggression, verbal abuse, peer exclusion, substance use and online harassment in schools.
The ministry is also engaging the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General’s Chambers on possible legislation to address these issues.
Parag pointed to the introduction of Moral Education and Civic Education as standalone subjects intended to promote kindness, courage, respect, good manners and personal responsibility.
She stressed that children’s behaviour is shaped at home and urged parents to examine the attention they give their children, including whether mobile phones distract them from meaningful interaction.
“How many of us engage with our children without being distracted by a phone?” she asked.
She said such distractions did not necessarily make someone a bad parent, but reminded those present that they were responsible for another life.
The ministry reported that parents at the meeting supported firmer disciplinary measures and called for guardians to take greater responsibility for teaching discipline, respect and good values.
Parag also highlighted government cash grants, literacy assessments in Grades Two and Four to identify learning gaps, and free live and recorded lessons through the Guyana Digital School.
In a separate announcement, she said the national driver’s licence theory examination would be digitised and integrated into the Digital School platform.
Beginning Friday, members of the public would be able to access the platform, pay through MMG and sit the examination electronically, according to the release. The initiative is intended to improve transparency, accountability and access to the examination.
Parag was accompanied by Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain, Deputy Chief Education Officer (Administration) Tiffany Harvey and other senior officials responsible for nursery, primary and secondary education, literacy, special education needs, allied arts and school health.
Source: Kiskadee Watch
