Clarendon MP Reports Improvement in School Attendance

School attendance in the North West Clarendon constituency is at an all time high, said Member of Parliament for the area, Richard Azan.
Mr. Azan, who was making his contribution to the 2005/06 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Tuesday (May 31), said the improvement in the attendance levels could be attributed to the introduction of a school feeding initiative, through assistance from Food for the Poor and a sport programme, during the last school year.
He informed that the school-feeding programme, which involved some 22 primary/junior high schools, six high schools and 50 basic schools, provided needy students with either a healthy breakfast or lunch daily at no cost, making regular attendance possible.
The North West Clarendon Member of Parliament (MP) said from a meeting held with principals of the various institutions, indications were that the level of attendance had increased to 85 per cent since the introduction of both programmes. He said that Friday attendance had also improved.
Mr. Azan further informed the House of his intentions to engender support from the business sector to assist with the provision of school uniforms and shoes to needy students in the upcoming school year.
Meanwhile, the North West Clarendon MP reported that some 14 schools had been repaired through the efforts of the Education Ministry, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education fund (CHASE), while through assistance from Food for the Poor, all schools had been outfitted with libraries.
Meanwhile, some 10 primary and all-age schools are now involved in a pilot gardening project to encourage further appreciation of farming. The support of the 4-H movement has been sought in this venture.