Region 3 Police crack down on students loitering after school

For years, concerns have been raised about the loitering of school children at a number of bus parks and areas around Guyana. This has prompted the ranks of Regional Division Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) to issue stern warnings to those students who continue to loiter after school hours in their region.
On Friday last, the ranks in the region fanned out in the Vreed-en-Hoop, WCD district where they engaged with students from various schools who were awaiting transportation. During that time, the ranks said they issued a stern warning.
“…they were warned to desist from loitering on the roadways and streets after the closure of schools,” one rank commented.
Earlier this year the Education Ministry’s Welfare Department swooped down at several minibus parks around the city, where over 200 children were caught loitering
Chief Schools’ Welfare Officer at the Education Ministry, Gillian Vyphius had told the media that a decision was made to carry out a truancy campaign after it was reported that students were loitering on the minibus parks instead of heading to school.
She said the Welfare Department was making every effort to ensure that children get to school on time. During the campaign, the children who were caught loitering were rounded up, placed on a bus, and taken to their respective schools.
Vyphius further challenged parents to constantly check on their child’s punctuality.
Before this campaign, the last reported anti-loitering campaign was held in 2016 by the Ministry of Education which led to a decrease in the truancy rate. The Schools’ Welfare Department conducted the campaigns once per week in all regions and the campaigns were guided by monthly reports on students’ attendance.
While the initiative was focused primarily on Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Georgetown, it had proven effective in keeping children in school and ensuring that they were aware of the importance of attending. (G9)