One step further, Mr Minister

Mark Nicely, Guest Columnist

The outstanding initiative of the Ministry of Education and its partners, including the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), in crafting the policy for the mandatory reintegration of school-age mothers into the formal education system must be commended. It always gives me great pleasure when politicians take a firm stance on positive issues pertaining to the welfare of the people they serve.

I offer my own commendation for the effort and for the announcement of the policy, coupled with the firm stance that it is not optional for these girls to be accepted: it is mandatory. As president of the JTA, I offer the association's support for this policy. This is an issue that has caused long and intense discussions among my colleague administrators and teachers, but now that the Ministry of Education has announced the policy, I urge all educators to provide our support and to refrain from any discrimination against teen mothers.

The policy has been developed, but the far more important and pressing matter is that of implementation. This is where the rubber hits the road.

I now say to Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, one step further. The introduction of at least two social workers to each regional office is the most critical step to help ensure the successful implementation of this policy.

I propose the following strategies:

1. All schools must be mandated to report incidents of teen pregnancies to the Ministry of Education.

2. The pregnant teen must be immediately assigned to a social worker (who must hereafter develop a programme of support and monitoring for the teen leading up to, and post delivery). This will provide direct state support and supervision of the teen. The social worker would immediately conduct home visits to ascertain, among other things, the state of affairs at the teen's home.

In some instances, the child is put out of the house. In other instances, the child goes to live with the man who has impregnated her. In other cases, the child 'kotches' with a family member or friend, or moves around nomadically.

3. The social worker must monitor the child during the pregnancy and network to offer any technical support which the child may need which does not reside in the social worker's competency.

Reporting males

This support should include reporting the male to the relevant authority, as may be necessary; and facilitating state support regarding deficiencies in the socio-economic standards in which the child lives. Additionally, connecting the child with relevant state agencies such as the Women's Centre will be integral to the nurture of the teen and the unborn child.

4. Following the birth of the child, the social worker must work with the human resources available to have the child and the baby settled as quickly as possible.

5. A determination should be made as to when the teen is considered fit and ready to be reintegrated into the public education system. The social worker, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Education, must then have consultation with the school administration to have the child reintegrated into the formal education system.

When that time comes, the social worker must, through the Ministry of Education, and education officers in particular, have the child returned to school. Simultaneously, the social worker must hand over a case file to the school's guidance counsellor to allow for the continued monitoring of the child.

Those steps are critical to operationalising what I know to be an excellent initiative of the ministry. There are many other benefits that the ministry can derive from acting on the skeleton which I have proposed.

1. The ministry would immediately develop a database of pregnant teens in schools.

2. The ministry must now begin to gather baseline data and, in years to come, assess the success, or failure, of reintegration efforts, the continued formal education of the teen, and the effect this programme has had in securing the future of these teen mothers.

3. The data gleaned would inform the Ministry of Education on future policy decisions.

4. The initiative through the social workers would expand significantly the network capabilities of the Ministry of Education and cause it to be more inclusive.

5. This programme could literally save lives, restore hope, and positively impact the moral fibre of the society.

Mr Minister, why wait any longer? Having announced the policy, do now proceed to appoint social workers to all regional offices. The welfare of these teens depends on the quick action of your ministry in implementing the policy and not just talk.

One more step, Mr Minister, more.

Dr Mark Nicely is president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association. Email feedback to columns@.com.