Sylvester Anderson (right), president of the National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica (NPTJ), converses with Sharon Wolfe, former chairman of the NPTJ. Occasion was the NPTJ's annual conference, held yesterday at the University of Technology, St. Andrew. - Norman Grindley/ Deputy Chief Photographer

Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson says children should not be prevented from graduating from school because they cannot afford it. She says her ministry plans to enforce this policy, come next year.

According to Mrs. Henry-Wilson, who is also Member of Parliament for South East St. Andrew, several parents have approached her seeking assistance for their children's graduation, which sometimes costs up to $10,000.

"Must we have such lavish graduations? Is that the best investment of the limited resources that parents have?" Mrs. Henry-Wilson asked yesterday at the National Parent Teachers Association of Jamaica's annual conference, held at the University of Technology, St. Andrew.

Invest a lot

She noted that parents, too, invest a lot of money in outfitting themselves for the event. But according to Mrs. Henry-Wilson, parents and teachers can celebrate children's achievements without the school-leaving ceremony being such a costly venture, adding that she has attended several graduation ceremonies where children wore uniforms and physical education gear, and still looked smart.

The Education Minister said the issue of graduation and affordability is something that the stakeholders in education will have to discuss without it having to be legislated.

"This is not going to work. A school can't tell a child that they can't graduate because they can't pay $6,000 for a gown and a hat, because that's not what the graduation is a about," Mrs. Henry-Wilson stated.

"If a child has achieved the objectives of the school and the child has performed and the outcomes are such that the child can move on, the school is to make that child graduate. That has to be the policy of the Ministry of Education and it is going to be enforced," Mrs. Henry-Wilson said firmly.