NIA-CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (March 15, 2011) — Principal Education Officer in the Ministry of Education on Nevis Mrs. Lornette Queeley Connor registered thanks to a cross sections of persons, who she said continued to assist the Ministry and Department of Education in its thrust to curb deviant behaviour in the schools across Nevis.

The commendations came when the PEO presented a report on Education on Thursday, at the second Symposium on Crime hosted by the Premier’s Ministry in the Nevis Island Administration. The forum was the second such symposium in nine months, held under the theme “Reclaiming our Society”. It was held at the Red Cross Building in Charlestown

Among them she singled out Premier of Nevis and Minister of Education in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Hon. Joseph Parry for his continued focus on crime reduction, Guidance Counsellors and the media.

“I wish to thank on behalf of the Ministry and the Department of Education the Nevis Island Administration especially Premier Parry for his focus on crime reduction. He has made several appeals for us to have programmes which we will see instituted very shortly concerning moral behaviour, values etc.

“I also wish to thank the Guidance Counsellors for identifying and treating students at risk. The Media must also be commended for advocating positive behaviours. Youth groups have been popping up all around the island and believing or not, we have seen a very positive spin off in the schools,” she said.

The PEO also had high commendation to the school principals who she said had been making an extra effort to appeal to peace and harmony. She said in her opinion they had become more vigilant and visible and walked around the schools to meet with teachers and students alike.

The Ministry of Social Services through its Department of Sports was also applauded for working well with Education. She said they had offered other extracurricular activities which had proven to help the children channel their energies elsewhere.

In conclusion, while she appealed for other agents of socialisation to pick up the slack to help foster goodwill among the island’s people, in particular the youth, where they thought the Department fell short, Mrs. Queeley Connor commended members of the community for their assistance and civic mindedness.

“We have also seen a good number of positive role models coming forward in our communities. Ordinary citizens have been calling the Department of Education, they have been calling the schools when they see children down town when they seem them walking through the ghauts, when they see them hiding out between the bushes and so on they have been calling to say ‘I see a child downtown’ or ‘I see a little boy in the ghaut in such an such uniform I want you to call the parents’ or ‘see what you can do for us please’ and so we have to thank the people in the community who have been so civic minded…

“If you think we are falling short, we ask you, the church, the family, the business community to embrace our young people to help them in a way that would turn them away from deviant behaviour,” she said.