Source: Loop Caribbean
Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Dominica, has called for a review of the education sector in the Caribbean.
Speaking on a panel of CARICOM leaders at the Regional Symposium: Violence as a Public Health Issue – The CARICOM Challenge, Skerrit said a review of the school system could help to address the root of crime.
He said our school systems are focused solely on passing examinations.
“There is absolutely no time in the five hours or so that the students spend in the school setting for anything to do with the well-being and welfare of the children.
We don’t take time to understand where they come from their economic circumstance and to appreciate their behaviours in the classroom,” he said.
He said there is a need for an urgent review and it would help to dry up the recruitment ground for violent behaviours.
He said anti-social behavior could lead to violent behavior and the use of guns and other weapons.
Skerrit said sports and physical education have taken second place and extracurricular activities in the classroom no longer exist as more emphasis is placed on academic performance.
“We boast of the percentage of passes at CXC but we fail to pay attention to the 20 or 30 percent of those who did not make it to the matriculation level,” he said.
“We are focused on those who do well academically but we fail to pay attention to the mental and emotional state of our children.”
Asking about parents, guardians, clergy, and the business community, Skeritt said we have abdicated our responsibility in taking care of our children.