Let’s prevent children dropping out of school

That means 1,000 uneducated and undereducated people, with little or no opportunity for gainful employment, are challenged to make a positive contribution to society and are easy prey for the criminal element.

Through sheer frustration alone, some may even end up on drugs or some other self-destructive pursuit.

Otherwise they become burdens on their families and on the State.

What is in place to help these children? What remedial programmes exist that would address the psychological issues in their lives that led them to give up on school? How many can find their way into Servol, MILAT, MYPART , the Civilian Conservation Corps, YTEPP and other vocational programmes if they still have the motivation for “school” and view these as opportunities to rebuild their lives? My concern is that these students are in the pool from which criminals are recruited, and are forced to “look for money” at their young age, and find themselves locked in the world of gangs. It is often said the criminal element in the society is in the minority; a mere handful of miscreants who now make life hell for the majority.

Our children who drop out of school and are not properly guided, are the ones who become that minority.

It is hardly likely that a child would just suddenly drop out of school, unless there was some emergency.

There are often indicators along the way that all is not well — poor academic performance, poor attendance, behaviour problems, isolation and other signs of depression, hygiene issues, and tardiness.

These are all red flags that, if attended to in time, can more than likely prevent the child opting to end school. Truly, issues in the home contribute to the children’s response in the school, and the current economic hardships can eventually lead to children having to cut school.

However, we must become more proactive and put systems in place to identify the threats to this critical stage in our children’s development. There must be interventions to assist families who may be experiencing such difficulties and help prevent children having to drop out of school.

Continuous psychological assessment for our children from pre-school would help to identify the issues in a timely manner and effect remedial action before it is too late. Our children are our most important resource; we must do more to develop their potential to the fullest.

GARVIN COLE via emai