Advisory to education stakeholders: Ministry
...we must at all times ensure that certain traits must be nurtured in our children which harnesses their safety, security and protection.
Below is the statement by the Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Mahendra Reddy, to the education stakeholders.
As the academic year 2016 comes to an end, Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts wishes to acknowledge the hard work, commitment and support of all the school managements, school heads, staff members, students, parents and the community at large for a successful year. The school holidays have begun from Saturday (26th November) and I call upon the school management, teachers, parents and students to take extra precaution and keep our children safe during the holidays.
Holidays are exciting times for all as people look forward to relaxation, fun and catching up with family, friends with activities and events. It is also a time when parents can provide additional opportunities for up skilling their child via short training classes such as, swimming, tennis, musical instrument training, etc. After a year’s hard work and sacULåFH FKLOGUHQ GHVHUYH D JRRG worthwhile break. However, while basking in all the fun and enjoyment, we must at all times ensure that certain traits must be nurtured in our children which harnesses their safety, security and protection. Apart from the risks that our children are endangered with such as, on the roads, in the waters and from unfortunate events such DV åUH DEXVH DQG GUXJV DQG VXEstance abuse, they are also faced with constraints related to NCD’s, natural disasters and other social familial issues. Under the Bainimarama Government, the fundamental priority is education. We know that once this priority is realised in all aspects of our nation, other components such as rights, law and order, health, environmental awareness, sustainable development, economic development and peace and prosperity will all materialise.
Therefore, the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts wishes to advice all children, parents, guardians, teachers, school heads and the management of schools of some basic procedures and measures which would be very useful during the holidays: Students
Adhere to the advice of your parents, guardians and elders at all times.
Do not indulge in risky activities and ensure that your safety is paramount. Evaluate, weigh the situations and scenarios and make wise choices. Seek parental intervention in decision making. Always give priority to prevention.
Involve in Skills development activities such as, joining sports clubs, music lessons, dance classes, technical skills: training opportunities, learn at home activities such as, cooking, religious learning, sewing, basic carpentry and other activities which will develop your skills.
Check on your 2017 academic work online or with friends and family and go through the prescriptions, text books, past year papers and other resources and acquaint with next year’s work.
Do lots of reading. You can make a habit of reading the newspaper every day or visit nearby libraries and have access to reading materials.
Upkeep yourself both mentally and physically: Eat healthy and maintain proper diet and nutriWLRQ $GRSW åWQHVV VWUDWHJLHV DQG regular exercise.
Help parents and guardians with household chores, such as, cooking, gardening, sweeping, farming etc.
Involve in charitable, volunteer work: join Help groups, charity groups, share your time and talents with people who have less than you do and involve your family in charity and national drives.
Be prepared for disasters and work with family to be safe. Adopt good communication habits. Be alert to risks and take action immediately Parents While this year we launched Pillar 4 of Educational Reforms which called for greater parental involvement in education, now we are asking all parents to continue their same pledge with their children through their holidays.
Maintain your commitment to the welfare, safety, security and supervision of your children at all times.
Involve with the children regularly, plan their holidays with them and work on strategies and schemes to assist them in their new academic year 2017.
Encourage your children to spend some time each week engaging in an educational activity, in preparation for the next school year.
Organise activities for children: swimming, music, dance, IT, sports classes; religious education classes, cultural art and craft development and other up-skilling training.
Spend quality time with children and advise them on important issues such as : drugs and substance abuse, sex education, physical development, abuse, NCD’s, health and nutrition, good company, moral values and virtues, teenage pregnancy, misuse of technology and other contemporary issues.
Provide the children with resources for development of reading, basic literacy and numeracy and 2017 academic resources. Accompany them to the library and engage in reading activities with them.
Provide the greatest support to your children when the external examination results are out. Be content with the performance of your child, do not pressurize them under any circumstances and discuss enthusiastically the next educational options as per the performance of your child.
Supervise and monitor children all the time: ensure children are always in a safe and secure environment.
Nurture family bonding and relationship building at home. Incorporate values and virtues in daily activities at home. Engage children in moral enhancing activities to raise social awareness and responsibility in them. Teachers
Take a well - deserved and safe break with family and friends.
Keep yourself both mentally DQG SK\VLFDOO\ åW UHOD[ UHIUHVK and be rejuvenated.
Do keep a tab on developments at the Education Ministry, especially, in relation to transfers, promotions, upgrading of resources, leave issues, contracts, examination results and other important matters.
Work with the School Heads and assist in securing the school in times of disaster or as need arises, especially, those staff living in the quarters.
Prepare for 2017 academic year with resources, plans, strategies and 2016 Exam results analysis and Work plans, especially, few days before the beginning of the academic year 2017. School Heads: Head Teachers and Principals
Ensure that the various stakeholders are provided with all important information in relation WR VFKRRO RIåFH RSHUDWLQJ KRXUV enrolment queries, exam results dissemination etc. Proper correspondence avenues must be created and information disseminated accordingly to the other stakeholders.
Plan the schedule for the Ancillary staff and ensure that the VFKRRO RIåFH LV RSHQ ZKHQ WKH UHsults are released and in January accordingly. Keep abreast with important dates such as, release of Exam results and disseminate accordingly to the other stakeholders.
Release the book distribution dates to the parents well in advance, if this will be during the holidays.
Secure and maintain all the resources and the school properly. If there is need for any maintenance and repair work, the priority for completion should be during the holidays to avoid any major disturbances in January.
Ensure all reports as needed by MoEHA are subsequently provided.
Keep all up-to-date records such as, 2017 enrolment, FEG grants, project report, Exam analysis, etc. as this can be useful anytime.
Collate all teachers and ancillary staff holiday correspondence details and update the Ministry accordingly in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Contact the Ministry or the 'LVWULFW (GXFDWLRQ 2IåFHV IRU approval of virement for the remaining Free Education Grant to be utilised during the school holidays for the upkeep, maintenance and renovation of the school infrastructure.
Identify students who need to be assisted with bags, sandals, uniforms, stationery and discuss with WKH 'LVWULFW (GXFDWLRQ 2IåFHUV RQ how these students can be assisted in 2017. School Managements
Work with the School Heads to secure the school and carry out any maintenance and repair work needed.
Ensure that arrangements are made for the security of the school infrastructure.
Work with the School Heads and assist in securing the school in times of disaster warnings or as need arises.
Meet with School Heads to discuss future plans and 2017 requirements.
The 2017 academic year is greatly looked forward to. The past two \HDUV UHaeHFWV RXU LQLWLDWLYHV DQG reforms, many of which are bearing positive results now. Our children’s education has blossomed through various strategies and policies put in place. We intend to continue molding the Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts into a modern, quality driven movement and thank all stakeholders who collaborated with us this far.
2017 will be another great year and I encourage you all to be prepared and continue with the drive for excellence in education.
I would like to wish you all a happy and safe vacation.