Georgetown – The Welfare Department within the Ministry of Education plans to expand their truancy campaign this year to reintegrate children into the school system.
Consultant to the Education Minister, Yvonne Arthur said more community and home visits will be made to educate citizens of the importance of education and the consequences of not sending children to school.
She emphasised that these visits focus on making citizens aware of the need to enhance literacy standards in Guyana which can be achieved via regular school attendance. The home visits will allow Welfare officers to be aware of specific needs of families, including obtaining birth certificates, and enables them to make referrals to the relevant agencies for assistance.
Arthur disclosed that the Ministry will be addressing situations where children are being employed during school hours; instances of child-labour and street children.
During a recent truancy campaign in Bartica, Region Seven, 16 children were apprehended and reintegrated into the school system. The parents were given warning letters and will be monitored by the Region’s Welfare Officers to ensure a 75 percent attendance rate is maintained. If this is not adhered to, the parents will be taken before the court.
In 2010 about 175 truancy campaigns were executed in all the Administration Regions with hundreds of children netted in the process.
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