Concerned parents and guardians are calling on the management of St. Martin De Porres School and the Ministry of Education to delay an election of new members of the Parent Teachers Association due to be held on Monday, February 10, 2014, because of concerns that they are being given only days’ notice before the election is held.

In the process of challenging the decision, KREM’s YaYa Marin-Coleman, who has a relative attending the school, sought assistance from the Ministry of Education to get the meeting delayed after the school’s management decided that it would stick with the announced date.

In responding to Marin-Coleman’s query, Principal Education Officer, Dr. Yvonne Davis, conveyed the position handed down by Chief Education Officer Christopher Aird: “There are no regulations governing PTAs in Belize; schools are encouraged to include in their constitution their policy on the PTA, and the regulations make provision for a school committee which is embedded in the Quality Schools framework.”

Davis added that schools are encouraged to form committees, which have a wider scope of responsibility and stakeholders than the PTAs.

Marin-Coleman has also written Aird with the concerns of the parents and guardians. That email was sent on Wednesday, but she told us that Aird has still not responded to calls for intervention to get the PTA meeting postponed, so that parents can be properly consulted and given adequate time for the election.