Parents, teachers, politicians and community activists have agreed that there is the need for a co-ordinated effort to raise the bar in education in primary schools in Marabella, an area considered to be "high risk."
The call came at the presentation of bursaries and other prizes for pupils from the four Marabella primary schools for their performance in the Secondary Entrance Assessment for 2013. The function was organised jointly by Nurturing Achievers Foundation, a non-profit organisation which funded Saturday classes for 12 students and Carrat Shed which has been giving the bursaries for the past 21 years.
Leading the calls to bring change to the community was Harmony Hall Presbyterian School principal Cynthia Phillip, whose school produced the two top students Emily Hasranah and Ravina Heeralal.
Phillip urged parents to become fully involved in their children's progress, to interact with teachers and ensure delivery of a high standard of the course of study and personal conduct. She said this interaction must start when children are infants for the results to be seen at the SEA examination.
Allen Campbelle, a director of the Foundation referred to the negative stigma attached to large areas of Marabella and the tendency for people to fall in line with that image of their community. He said the board of the Foundation was satisfied that quality education is the vehicle for reversing the trend and will increase their involvement to complement the work being done in schools.
He was supported in this commitment by Marisa Henry of Caribbean Gaming Technologies, a company which threw its weight behind the Carrat Shed and the Foundation to initiate the Saturday programme.
A release from the organisers said the most stirring plea, however, came from Wendy-Ann Gomes, the mother of the top student from Marabella Girls' Anglican School, Mickela Williams. Gomes asked for equal treatment for all students wherever they may come from, "the line" or "better communities." She said that too often children are victims of their circumstances and the school system must not differentiate on the basis of where one lived. She also urged parents to play their part in making the system work even if they had to struggle to do so. She herself, a single parent of seven had decided to take an active part in her children's education.
Bursaries and trophies were presented to the top students from each school, Emily Hasranah of Harmony Hall Presbyterian, Fern Warner of Marabella Government, Mickela Williams of Marabella Girls Anglican and Lisedi Lewis of Marabella Boys Anglican. Participants in the Saturday classes were given certificates and book vouchers donated by Caribbean Gaming Technologies.
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