Only 72 per cent of students attending school in Region 4
KINGSTON, Jamaica — While classes resumed at all schools as of January 14, attendance continues to fluctuate and is down by as much as 28 per cent in the parishes that were hardest-hit by Hurricane Melissa.
Morris Dixon spoke to the issue in the Senate on Friday while responding to questions from Opposition senators.
She shared that in Region 2, which comprises the parishes of Portland, St Thomas and St Mary, attendance was at 80 per cent. It was 82 per cent in Region 3, comprising St Ann and Trelawny, the other two parishes that were majorly impacted.
“Those numbers are not where we want it to be but…we have the numbers, and that’s important because it means that we’re tracking it. If we don’t measure it, we’re not really doing anything towards it,” said Morris Dixon.
She said each week, the education ministry works with the guidance counsellors who seek to engage the students to determine why they are not in school.
Earlier, she said the level of absenteeism is highest among teenage boys, many of whom are out working to help their families rebuild and recover from the hurricane damage. This, she said has become their priority.
“It’s especially acute with our teenage boys and what happens is that they try and go help their families. They see that their homes are destroyed and they want to help and so school for them is not important right now,” Morris Dixon told the Upper House.
The education minister said her ministry has been going into the communities, using the churches along with its guidance counsellors to engage with families while reiterating the importance of school. “And so we’re tracking the numbers,” she said.
Morris Dixon said data and the experience from the COVID-19 pandemic show that the longer students remain out of the classroom, “it’s the higher the likelihood that they will not return”.
“And so, what we’ve been doing is taking the attendance [record] and each week it goes up but we have to be deliberate, so our guidance counsellors have to be going out into the communities to find the children”.
—Lynford Simpson
