Shift system warning.
Adults losing ability to monitor children
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW ANDREA Moore is warning that the shift system operating in some schools in Portland could create problems for the parish in the not-too-distant future.
According to Moore, a vibrant neighbourhood watch has helped to maintain a low crime rate in the parish, but the shift system is making it difficult to monitor children and ensure they do not get involved in negative activities.
Moore, who is known to have political interests in the Portland Eastern constituency, said she is deeply concerned that promises to get rid of the shift system in the parish are yet to be fulfilled.
“Where you would have the community seeking to look out for children on a whole, then that whole system does not allow you to be able to ‘police’ the community if you have that desire,” said the community worker.
“You can’t really judge who is really supposed to be at home or on their way home,” she added.
Moore charged that the Ministry of Education has been working for the last five years or more to take the Port Antonio primary and high schools off the shift system, and she hopes more effort will be put into getting this accomplished.
“I think if we can accelerate it, I think we would really make a difference in terms of the education that the students get,” she said.
“My observation is that they don’t achieve as much academically in general (on the shift system),” argued Moore.
She said she was also concerned about the number of unattached youths in the community, as many of them are not aware of the skills-training opportunities available.
“I also realise that a lot of the programmes that the HEART/Trust NTA have had, they haven’t been able to get a lot of uptake for persons to come into their offices at the plaza where they are located in Port Antonio.
“It is a concern, because we would like to engage the young persons in gainful employment or in terms of entrepreneurship,” said Moore.
She argued that the planned reopening of the Dragon Bay Hotel, which has been closed for 16 years, would be a major boost for the parish, as it would help to absorb a number of these young people who are unemployed.
“If we have a hotel like that with more than 100 rooms, you can just imagine how many persons would be employed and what it would mean for the parish,” said Moore.