(June 25, 2022) – The Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has
begun to engage leaders in the religious community to address the issues of school
dropouts and antisocial behaviours in the school environment.
Over the last week, Minister Manickchand has met with religious leaders in the
Christian and Islamic communities and will soon be meeting with leaders from the
Hindu community.
During the meetings, the Education Minister highlighted that the Ministry has
implemented several measures aimed at ensuring students return to school and receive
an education in a safe and cohesive environment.
Since schools have been reopened, in addition to addressing the issue of school
dropouts, the Ministry of Education has been dealing with reports of violent and
antisocial behaviour exhibited by students, particularly those in secondary schools.
The religious leaders were told that their help will be two-fold. They will assist the
Ministry in carrying out “Operation Recovery” by engaging early school leavers and their
parents within their respective communities. This will help to determine the reasons
behind the students leaving school and find solutions to ensure they are back in the
classroom receiving the education they rightly deserve.
Secondly, their presence in schools will be used to curb antisocial behaviours by
counselling and guiding students to make better decisions which will positively impact
their lives.
This is part of the Ministry’s expansion of its social work capacity to be able to respond
the needs of students across the country.
