Education Ministry vigilant against recruiting child sex offenders
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Senator Ruel Reid has condemned the alleged involvement of teachers in sexual offence cases against children.
At the same time, he has called on school boards to improve their due diligence process to avoid employing people of such disrepute.
The Education minister was responding to recent media reports by the Clarendon police.
In a news release Tuesday, he disclosed that the proposed Jamaica Teaching Council Act, which will govern the licensing of teachers, has provisions to deter these kinds of professional misconducts.
With the care and protection of children and youth now part of his portfolio, Minister Reid said a greater opportunity exists to collaborate with the relevant agencies to educate teachers about their responsibilities in this regard.
He noted that it was important for all segments of the Jamaican society to regard all children as “our children”.