Ministry of education sensitises key partners about new obligations |10 March 2020

The gathering listening to a presentation during the session (Photo: Joena Meme)

The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development held a sensitisation session on Friday for headteachers, deputies and members of school council.

The aim of the session, which took place at the STC conference room, was to prepare the key partners of the ministry for the launch of the implementation educational contractual obligation of students, parents, teachers and school leadership.

The regulation comprises a total of 37 provisions which outlines the roles and responsibilities of parents, students, teachers and school managements, and holds them each accountable.

Present at the presentation was the Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Jeanne Simeon; principal secretary for early childhood, primary and secondary education Dr Odile de Commarmond; principal secretary for higher education and human resource development, Linda Barallon; the director general for primary Cyril Pillay; director general for secondary schools, Odile Octave; and other ministry officials.

In her opening remarks, Minister Simeon said that the session is very important to the first group partners as this sensitisation will prepare for the launch of the contractual obligation .

“We have talked and discussed a lot about the advent of these regulations pertaining to such obligations which came as a cabinet decision in October 2017 and prescribed into the law in November 2017 and included in the education amendment act 2017,” said the minister.

She also explained that the new set of obligations will complement the already existing ones.

She further noted that the department of education strongly believes that the regulation would be useful to state schools to gain full autonomy.

“This will help in the school’s transition to autonomy. It will equip all partners – from school leadership to teachers, parents and students themselves – with their responsibilities, so that they do not rely on the ministry to handle every single situation,” Minister Simeon added.

With particular emphasis on the transparency in school leadership, schools will be tasked with developing their respective handbook detailing, among other components, their regulations and what they expect of their students and parents.

Parents and students presented with these handbooks will have to sign their names acknowledging that they have received them.

“It was felt that these obligations would help to clarify responsibilities of each of the parties, parents, teachers, students and school leadership will be accountable for their actions,” said Minister Simeon

Selby Dora, consultant within the department of education, explained that the regulation should not be coined a ‘social contract’ since “the legal term of this regulation makes no mention of a ‘social contract’ whatsoever”.

“The provisions made in the regulation are already embedded in the Education amended Act 2017. We simply took these provisions and developed them further in the regulations,” said Mr Dora.

The new obligations will be enforced on May 11 at the start of the second trimester and schools will be involved in all discussions pertaining to that up until it’s officially launched and more sensitisation will be done with parents, teachers and students in the upcoming weeks.

Christophe Zialor