Parenting plea - Regional director urges greater support towards children’s education

WESTERN BUREAU:

With the new school year just weeks away, Dr Michelle Pinnock, regional director for the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth, and Information’s Region Four, is calling for parents to be more proactive in supporting their children’s academic growth.

Pinnock was speaking at a back-to-school financial aid programme hosted by Caribbean Excelerate Energy at Pier One Restaurant in Montego Bay, St James, yesterday.

The event was held to provide school vouchers and supplies to 1,200 students across Montego Bay, Old Harbour in St Catherine, and Clarendon.

“Today, your child has been selected to receive support for the 2026-27 academic year, but you should know that you have a responsibility to ensure that they do well,” said Pinnock. “Parents, you must support your children, including by tough love, and I want you to continue checking the homework, checking the school bags, visiting your child’s school, and to stand with us as we prepare your child for their future.

“Parents, I ask that you support the children as they excel fearlessly. It means that when you go home this evening, you are going to get the timetable and put it up on the fridge and note what time you are going to wake up, and what you are going to be doing for the rest of the day,” continued Pinnock. “We have to prepare for excellence, so I ask you, please, to surround yourself with persons who will allow your children to be more than they are now.”

Last August, the National Parenting Support Commission encouraged parents to stay closely connected to their children, particularly those transitioning from primary school to high school during the new academic year.

Pinnock also urged parents not to buy into bias against schools’ textbook rental schemes, through which younger students have an opportunity to rent textbooks from older students who used them in previous grades. Notably, as far back as 2016, schools with textbook rental schemes were encouraged to institute procedures to properly manage those programmes.

“Parents, I ask you to please make sure that you get the literature books and the reading books, and get your children to start reading now. There are some of us that say, ‘Mi don’t want no rental book.’ But the books are there, the children will take care of them, and nothing is wrong with taking those rental books,” said Pinnock.

In the meantime, Irwin High School student Tina Franklin expressed gratitude for the opportunity to receive back-to-school supplies through Monday’s programme, which was hosted annually by New Fortress Energy before it was acquired by Excelerate Energy, Caribbean Excelerate’s parent, in May 2025.

“I am feeling great about getting these items to go back to school, and I am looking forward to going back to school. This donation will help me to deal with the finances that I would have needed otherwise to go back to school,” said Franklin, who will be joining her school’s grade-eight cohort.

Yesterday’s event saw students receiving school bags, notebooks and $10,000 in vouchers to purchase school supplies, while medical check-ups were also made available. Additionally, high school and Primary Exit Profile students received bursaries of up to $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com