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| Minister of Social Affairs in Nevis the Hon. Hensley Daniel. |
CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (December 11, 2006) -- Minister of Social Affairs in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) the Hon. Hensley Daniel, issued a call to parents to allow their children to take advantage of the new Homework Assistance Programme for Grade 3-6 students, which is being administered by a cadre of trained teachers.
The programme which was launched by the Ministry of Social Development, through its Social Action Programme in November, 2006, is a preventative programme to ensure that children mastered the concepts of mathematics,
English and Science at primary level in preparation for secondary school.
"I urge parents, teachers and community workers to rally with this Homework Assistance Programme because all over the world it is seen as critical and in many cases we are leading in Nevis on this, in terms of implementation and capturing the essence of what is at the heart of many of our social and economic problems.
"So again I make a further plea for parents to send their children and even if the students are doing well, send them still to keep them going and use the opportunity to strengthen and deepen the understanding of concepts starting school. Give your children the opportunity to be the best they can be," he said during an interview with the Government Information Service on Friday December 08, 2006. ~~Adz:Right~~
Mr. Daniel said the assistance programme was conceived, to assist many children who were left behind because they had not grabbed the concepts of Mathematics, English and Science in the classroom for several reasons including class sizes and the absence of individualised tutoring.
He said the Programme, which is held for two hours at the Community Centre from 4:30-6:30pm and 5-7pm, would help to correct the deficiencies in Maths, English and Science which was evident among children at the primary schools.
So far, the programme has been offered in the communities of Bath, Charlestown, Brown Pasture, Church Ground, Brown Hill, The Flats and later at Prospect. The St John's Primary School is being used as a pilot. The Minister said the response to the programme has been encouraging.
According to Mr. Daniel, the programme provided and opportunity for individualised instructions so that students could learn on a one on one basis which was critical since some children learnt better individually.
He regarded the programme as a good opportunity to bring the students up to the level of the high performance students. Some students may be under performing but with the Homework Assistance Programme, over time, their performance would be improved to the level of the high performing students.
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"The teachers are from the same villages and it should make a difference. We have particularly ensured that the teachers come from the villages and communities as the students so it is an attempt of self reliance for the persons in the community to rely on the teachers in the community to assist them," he said.
The Minister responsible for Social Development noted, that complexities of work today did not allow many parents to assist their children with homework. He said it was therefore the duty of the Nevis Island Administration to fill the gap, so that at the end of primary school, students would be better equipped to take on the challenges of secondary education.
Mr. Daniel explained that the Programme placed learning, study and reading high on the list of priorities in the lives of parents and children in an effort to raise the bar in so far as education, learning and training was concerned. By extension, he said, because they are assisted with their homework, the students would develop a greater interest in school and reduce the drop out rate and also raise their performance over time.
The programme was also tailored to deepen the understanding of concepts taught in schools, the Minister explained, which was a better way for students to get the opportunity to reinforce concepts that were taught at the schools in the day time.
