THE Education Ministry will be establishing a secretariat to specifically reinvigorate, coordinate and manage Parent/Teacher Associations (PTAs) across the country.In a statement issued on Monday, the ministry said parental involvement in PTA continues to be a challenge especially at the secondary level although it is critical to children’s development.

“The support and involvement of parents and the community are extremely important for education. Parents are the primary influence in their children’s lives. They are their very first teachers. When teachers and parents can work together supportively, this raises standards in a school and helps children to achieve their potential,” the Ministry explained.

It said while PTAs seem to function at most primary schools, those associations are often small in comparison to the overall population of schools.

The Education Minister, Dr. Rupert Roopnarine has long emphasized the importance of PTAs, saying that it is fundamental to the development of students. As such, he intends to set up a secretariat with the aim of reviving PTAs countrywide.

However, in the interim, the Education Ministry said the PTA Coordinator, Nadia Hollingsworth has already started the process of resurrecting PTAs.

Hollingsworth has been introducing schools to the Ministry’s comprehensive toolkit on PTAs.

“This PTA Toolkit is a collection of guidelines and ideas complied over two years of working with schools and communities in a variety of different settings within Region Six. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of parents and teachers in the Executive Committee and prescribes numbers best practices for a well-functioning parent/teacher association,” the Ministry explained.
Since Hollingsworth’s appointment, she has conducted sessions on Reinforcement of PTA policies and sensitization on the use of the toolkit; Conflict resolution between parents and Head Teacher; Engaged with parents to address their issues; Professional development sessions for members of staff; and awareness sessions on how to facilitate comradery between home and school.

Additionally, she has been attending head-teachers meetings countrywide to implore that they provide the atmosphere for healthy parent-teachers’ relationship.

Now, it is her intention to hold a series of parent forum across the country to help parents to understand their roles and responsibilities in the education process of their children.

These meetings will more than likely be conducted on weekends to ensure maximum participation by parents. Hollingsworth is calling on the Private Sector Commission through the MOE to review its policies on releasing employees to attend meetings.