GRPA, secondary students make suggestions for solutions
GUYANA Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) Executive Director, Ms. Beverly Braithwaite-Chan, has posited that lack of proper parental guidance is a main contributory factor to children’s indisciplined behaviour.
Speaking at the recently held open forum to promote safe, acceptable behaviours and positive values in schools, at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, she said parents have to first understand their children before they embark on addressing their problems.
She pointed out that many parents seldom interact with their children on matters of relationships, the changes from childhood to adolescence, or try to find out the issues that might be affecting them.
Braithwaite-Chan said the communication gap between parents and their children may be due to the situation today, where many parents are young and some ill-prepared for parenthood.
She said, too, that parents cannot enlighten their children when they do not have the knowledge to do so and their failure of the former to connect with the latter is the reason they cannot solve their problems.
Braithwaite-Chan said this communication gap has allowed children to venture into various types of negative behaviour, a view supported by several Georgetown secondary school students.
Erica Chappell, a fifth former of Bishops’ High School (BHS), one of the most disciplined schools in the country, said, on most occasions, students with rude behaviour hail from backgrounds where they receive little supervision at home.
She pointed out there is seldom indiscipline at BHS but agreed that parents need to communicate more with their children, as that will go a far way towards helping to overcome challenges.
Chappell’s schoolmate, Krysta Newton was of the view that all schools, irrespective of their track record in discipline, should institute a mentoring programme.

Vital role
She said it would not only ensure that there are disciplined students in schools but also play a vital role in building their self-esteem.
Apart from the mentoring, Chappell said all schools must have sports, environmental and other clubs to channel students’ negative energy into positive and productive behaviour.
Florel Harris, a fifth former of Tutorial High School, said, unlike at BHS, students at her school are not that well behaved.
She said indiscipline at hers is primarily among third, fourth and fifth formers and, in some cases, the conduct displayed by the perpetrators at school is quite the opposite to what they display at home.
Celeste Lindo, a fifth former of Cummings Lodge Secondary School, said most students misbehave to get attention and concurred that parents ought to communicate more with their children, as this approach can be effective.
She said all class teachers must have clearly established rules governing students’ behaviour, penalties for various kinds of misdemeanours and the rules must be rigidly enforced.
The Ministry of Education recently instituted several interventions to address the problem of indiscipline in schools. They include the placement of guidance counsellors in schools where the problem has been reported the most, the searching of students and, recently, the inauguration a National Mentoring Programme.
The Health and Family Life Education Programme will also be introduced in more schools and will be part of the curriculum in the next academic year.
In addition, the Ministry has also been working to resuscitate and strengthen Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs), acknowledging that parents have an important role to play in imparting values of discipline and proper conduct to their children.
A national PTA Coordinator has been appointed to oversee the process and, more recently, stakeholders at the education forum have proposed the introduction of a special training programme for parents to sensitise them to their roles and responsibilities.
But it was not determined who will take on the responsibility of the training workshops for parents after Education Minister Shaik Baksh indicated that his ministry cannot carry out that task on its own.