Hazel tells parents: Protect your children

EDUCATION MINISTER Hazel Manning appealed to parents to help Government deal with crime in Trinidad and Tobago by protecting their children from criminal elements in society. Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Colm Imbert said his ministry is doing its part to address crime in TT through the Multi-Sector Skills Training (MuST) programme which will find gainful employment 3,000 persons by the end of 2005 and this number will increase to 5,000 by the end of 2006.

Speaking at a PNM public meeting in Tunapuna on Friday, Manning said her ministry was very concerned about the high levels of absenteeism in the nation’s schools. She asked the nation’s parents: “Do you know where your children are? We are asking schools to bring to the attention of the Ministry, those students who are forever absent. We want to find them, find out why they are not in school and help them find their way back to school. Help us to help your children to learn,” the Minister said.

Manning urged parents to monitor their children’s activities to ensure that they are not led astray by undesirable elements in society. “Don’t let them be used as sex slaves or push drugs or become criminals. We do not want to produce a country of criminals. Join us to produce a peaceful TT because all of our children can learn and will learn with your support,” she declared. Meanwhile, Imbert said initiatives such as MuST were specifically geared towards helping persons from “at risk groups” in society find meaningful employment and MuST’s reach will be expanded in the coming months.