Amid concerns about new avenues for bullying, such as online platforms and social media, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand announced the development of a strategic plan to address this, including parents signing contracts.
“We are going to launch very soon something that Olato Sam had begun to work on that he didn’t complete when he died so we are completing it with the assistance of Ann Greene, former head of Child Care and Protection Agency.
“We are trying to put together a full strategy that involves parents signing contracts and some other things that we want to test to put out fully before,” Minister Manickchand explained.
The comprehensive strategy will soon undergo consultation, a step that the late Sam did not get to do.
She emphasised that while there has been no increase in reported cases of bullying for 2024, the rise of social media has created new channels for bullying.
“We have not seen an increase in bullyism, but we do have in the world more avenues by which people can be bullied and that means everyone has access to a smartphone, everybody has access to all kinds of social media forums, and so bullying is not only in the classroom,” Manickchand said.
Currently, guidance and counseling officers have been placed in 92 of Guyana’s 116 secondary schools, with some schools having two or three officers based on assessed needs.
The Education Minister also highlighted past interventions that have proven effective, including those implemented at the Campbellville Secondary School in Georgetown.
“We were having some trouble at Campbellville Secondary.
“You would notice that have been very quiet for an extended period of time and that is because I went to the school we met with the parents and we took certain decisions,” Manickchand said.
These interventions included increased parental involvement and enhanced supervision. Manickchand explained that parents were used as “wardens” in getting the students motivated for learning and getting them to school on time.
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