Schools Welfare Department conducts Truancy campaign in Stabroek area

The Schools Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education conducted a truancy campaign this morning in the Stabroek Market area.

Chief Schools Welfare Officer, Ms. Gillian Vyphuis said that the department has noticed that most mornings some children are going to school late. She said that among the issues which fall under the scope of the department are attendance and punctuality.

She said that the officers from the department went out to ensure that students get to school on time. “What we did this morning, was to round-up children who were loitering and those that were actually late. Help them to enter a bus so that they can go to school.”

According to Ms. Vyphuis the exercise is done on a daily basis and began on the first day of school for this term. She said that since the campaign began, the department has noticed a decrease in loitering by students.

Ms. Vyphuis’ message to parents is that they need to encourage their children to attend school daily and punctually because education is the key to success. In the case of children that are late on a daily basis, the department will try to transfer the student to a school closer to their residence so that they can arrive at school on time and benefit from more classroom hours.