EDUCATORS AND OTHERS present spoke out strongly in support of parents’ right to home school their children during the tenth sitting of the Barbados Senior Parliament at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus today.
Shortly after Speaker Hamilton Lashley, a former Government Minister introduced the topic Should Home Schooling be Continued in Barbados, UWI administration employee Sis Dr Sandra Richards was vociferous in her submission that parents should have the right to determine how their children should be educated.
Speaking in support of the Rastafarian community which was recently challenged on the issue of home schooling in a case involving one of their own, Richards argued home schooling allowed for social engagement.
UWI Cave Hill lecturer Dr Tennyson Joseph also supported parents’ right of choice when it came to education, arguing it was a fundamental feature of democracy.
Springer Memorial student Leanne Toppin was equally vocal in her opposition, rejecting the notion that parents should have the right to subject their children to home schooling. The sixth form student chided adults for making decisions for young people without giving the youth a say in their own future. (GC)
