The archaic Education Act has no bite and is failing the island’s children.
“It has no teeth. It is not protecting children the way it should,” said Acting Chief Magistrate Barbara Cooke-Alleyne yesterday when she fined a mother $50, the maximum allowed under the Education Act, for a parent’s failure to ensure a child attends school.
Janelle Jordan of Haynesville, St James, pleaded guilty in the Holetown Magistrates’ Court which was told that her son did not attend school on any day of Terms 1 and 2 of the 2010/2011 school year.
Jordan was charged that being the parent of the school-aged boy, born in 1999, she allowed the child to fail to attend school regularly. The offence is contrary to Section 61 of the Education Act, Cap 41.
The boy missed 66 of 66 days in Term 1 and 54 of 54 days in Term 2.
