PM GOLDING CALLS ON NATION TO PARTNER WITH TEACHERS

PM GOLDING CALLS ON NATION TO PARTNER WITH

TEACHERS TO MOLD YOUNG LIVES:

In a message to mark ‘Teachers Day' celebrated today (Wednesday, May 6), Prime Minister Bruce Golding, has called on the nation to partner  with teachers in molding the lives of  young people and  to strive to see how best,  through a participatory approach, the performance gap in many of the schools, can be closed.

Mr. Golding said the academic underperformance of many students is a challenge facing Jamaica and is oftentimes a manifestation of trouble within the home. The resolution to these problems he said, called for collaboration - not isolation - as teachers cannot be expected to resolve these problems alone.

The Prime Minister noted that this year's commemoration of ‘Teachers' Day', takes on even greater significance, as the teaching fraternity and the wider education sector are confronted by graver challenges than those experienced in previous years. Despite these obstacles, he noted that teachers have remained resilient and committed to their task of educating the nation's youths; and for this, they deserved the highest commendations.

The escalating levels of violence and rampant indiscipline in our educational institutions have been of great concern to most of us; and regrettably, mirrors the breakdown in social and moral values taking place in families and communities at large,' he said

Mr. Golding said parents must  recognize that the primary responsibility of ensuring the wholesome development of their children rests in their ‘hands'. He concluded his message to mark ‘Teachers Day' by calling  on all Jamaicans to work ‘hand in hand' with  teachers, in securing a brighter future for our  children, in order to ensure a more prosperous future  for the country.