Sutherland calls for BYS expansion

MEMBER OF Parliament for St. George North Dwight Sutherland believes there is a need for more guidance counsellors in schools and a need for the Barbados Youth Service (BYS) to be expanded.

He made the observation during the Appropriation Bill 2017 Committee of Supply Head 77 in the Lower Chamber where he said the education focus ought to be on the transformation of the country.

Sutherland lamented that there is an increasing level of deviant behaviour in the school, noting that there are a number of boys and girls in secondary schools that are being expelled because of misbehaviour. Some he said, end up on the road, while others end up before the juvenile court system.

While complimenting teachers for their commitment to their job, he said they often lament that even though the majority of a class are willing to learn, there are those who are creating challenges.

He told the Honourable Chamber that while the boys are finding themselves in trouble, some girls end up as teen mothers.

“We ought to take a stock of what is happening in the Ministry level, governmental, home and schools.”

“The BYS is a wonderful idea. I believe we need to expand the Youth Service. Sending a child to Government Industrial School, I don’t think that solves the problem that we have in the schools. We need a lot more guidance counsellors in our school system,” he said.

He said the Youth Service should not be seen as a punitive measure, but a way to bring these young persons back into the system.

Sutherland while acknowledging the limited resources, also noted the importance of urgently refurbishing some of the island’s school plant.

He pointed to St. Jude’s Primary, which he said is in a deplorable state and urged officials from the Ministry of Education to pay greater attention to that St. George school.

“We have health issues developing from a poor plant and we have to be mindful that where we have schools where teachers and students are going home sick, that is not conducive for learning,” he said.

He also suggested that the Ministry and other key stakeholders need to look critically at how to use the tools available and modernise the methods by which children are taught in the classroom. (JH)