The principal says that before that hour, there is no one there to supervise them.

ST. MATTHEW, Cayo District, Thurs. Sept. 5, 2019– The gates at the St. Matthew’s Government School compound were locked on Monday so that students who went to school early could not get into the school yard like they usually do. They had to wait outside until 8:30 a.m., when the gates were opened.

Many parents were alarmed about what they considered a lack of consideration for the students.

Shakeera Berry, the principal of the school, told the media that the people of the village should not have been alarmed because in June, they held a parents-teachers meeting in which the early arrival of the students to the school was discussed, and there was no objection to the policy of the school.

The principal explained that the school day commences at 9:00 in the morning, and the teachers arrive at school at 8:30 a.m., so there is no effective supervision available for children who go to school too early. She said that some of the students go to school as early as 7:00 a.m., and there is no one there to supervise them. It was decided at the meeting that for the safety of the children, they should come to school at 8:30 when the teachers arrive.

Principal Berry said that the rule will remain. Parents should not send their children to school so early because “teachers are there to educate them, not to babysit”, she said. Parents should consider the safety of the children and cooperate, the principal said.