Message for nation’s school children

THE EDITOR: During my recent keynote address to graduates of the La Romaine Junior Life Centre, I advised students to dissociate themselves from school mates who drink, mess with drugs, gamble and engage in illicit sex. I wish to pass this message on to all students of the nation, especially those who are entering the secondary school system for the first time.

Some of our classrooms look worse than dirty rum shops with cigarette butts, cards, and empty bottles thrown all over the place. There are some students who write obscenity on the walls and blackboards and even urinate in the classrooms. There is a shortage of desks and chairs in many schools because delinquent children destroy them. That’s why I am pleading with our new secondary students to stay clear of those who encourage them to engage in anti-social behaviour. Teachers, students and parents must register their concerns about the many cancers which are preventing our schools from producing more God-fearing, patriotic and law abiding citizens. We definitely need our students to help eradicate many of the ills in our society and in our schools instead of being part of the problem. This challenge is not for government or for the Education Ministry only; it is every citizen’s duty to ensure that at every level we wage an unrelenting battle against these evils.

I wish to stress, once again, that parents must be proper role models in the home. At the same time teachers must also be exemplars by displaying high levels of professionalism in teaching their students as well as in their personal deportment. I wish to point out that many of the various clubs which have cropped up all over the country are doing young people no favour. Regardless of what the supporters of these clubs may say, many youngsters go there to drink and have a good time. They have been brainwashed into believing that that’s the way to enjoy themselves. They don’t believe there are many other kids who remain sober and enjoy themselves even more than those who get drunk.

HARRACK BALRAMSINGH
La Romaine