Thwaites reveals details of anti-dropout programme
Published:Wednesday | January 22, 2014 | 3:21 PM
Jovan Johnson, Gleaner Writer
KINGSTON, Jamaica:
The Education Minister, Ronald Thwaites, says that a new anti-school dropout intervention programme to be embarked on is the largest and most comprehensive to be undertaken in Jamaica.
The programme is scheduled to start in February, and is in response to a police study that points to most persons in penal facilities coming from non-performing schools.
The Education Minister announced in Parliament yesterday that the programme will be a permanent feature in schools.
Thwaites says focus will first be placed on 56 schools identified in the report with indications of rates of dropouts and the exhibition of anti-social behaviour.
He says a system is to be implemented to carefully monitor students with poor school attendance.
He says this will ensure that there will always be a connection between schools, students and the education ministry to ensure the progress of students is tracked.
Thwaites says communities must play their role by supporting the intervention efforts in order to ensure that positive learning is reinforced.
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