EDITORIAL - PATH fund cheats

A Clarendon high-school principal has drawn the nation's attention to the misuse and abuse of the funds provided to needy students under the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH).

George Henry, principal of Spalding High School, told a graduation function recently: "Far too many of our parents who get funds through PATH to be used to feed their children are using these funds for other purposes, including to purchase hair extensions, to purchase cellular phones, to do manicures, pedicures and other things, except for producing good nutrition for their children so that they can learn better at school."

This latest insight into modern-day parenting techniques as described by Mr Henry exposes the bizarre cultural revolution that has overtaken many of our rural and urban communities where people (usually unemployed) have become obsessed with fashion and the emphasis on the latest bling. Bling is used to describe flashy jewellery and other designer accessories, including cell phones, which are supposed to indicate that the wearer has taste and lots of cash.

Far from seeking to improve their children's chances of achieving a better life, these parents are desperately trying to embrace a celebrity lifestyle. And by so doing, they are exhibiting an inexcusable lack of responsibility towards their children's education and development.

Even though there are some children who have successfully used PATH funds to deliver scholastic achievements, this aberration by parents of beneficiaries requires an urgent government response if the programme is to remain relevant and achieve its objectives of ensuring that students are nutritionally prepared to learn.

Give funds to schools

Mr Henry is proposing that the funds be given directly to the schools to create a breakfast programme to satisfy the children's nutritional needs. The relevant ministries should study such a proposal, although it seems unlikely that the beneficiaries would react kindly to any attempt to deny them access to these funds. We anticipate that any suggestion to change the status quo will be strongly resisted.

At the very least, however, there should be stricter monitoring of how these funds are used, especially in circumstances where the child is being denied food.

It is well known that good nutrition is crucial to a child's ability to learn. It is one of the factors that enhance classroom performance. Mr Henry disclosed that many of the children on PATH are hungry when they get to school. Hunger is a side effect of poverty, and this is why the PATH fund was established: to cushion the most vulnerable in society from economic harshness.

Mr Henry's concerns point to a problem of hunger in our schools. Could hunger be impeding some children's ability to concentrate, and is this what is rendering some children so disruptive and confrontational?

The choices that some parents make today are starkly different from generations ago when parents understood that a good education was the foundation for their children's upward mobility. Even though parents were poor and never had access to a PATH fund, they understood the impact of nutrition and hunger on learning. They made great sacrifices to see that their children were properly fed.

Who is going to make these misguided parents understand that there are serious, long-term consequences to their children and the nation's development if they are hindered from achieving their educational goals?

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