Minister Holness concerned about parenting of boys

Minister of Education, Hon Andrew Holness, says the parenting of boys remains a major concern for his Ministry.
Speaking at the official launch of Parent Month 2010, at Jamaica House, Friday (October 29), Mr. Holness said one of the manifestations of the weakness in the parenting of boys is in their general underperformance in school.
He noted that data has revealed that there is a possible correlation between parental involvement and the performance of boys.
“We notice that at higher income levels, where there tends to be a higher correlation of parental involvement, that boys and girls tend to perform equally,” he shared.
He said among the recommendations the Ministry is looking at, is that of making education more accessible for boys who might have different styles of learning. He also stressed that parents will have to be resocialised regarding how they raise boys in relation to girls.
“We can’t have two standards; a higher standard of parenting for the girls and a lesser standard of parenting for the boys. We must make sure that our boys are held accountable, that they are supported, that they are in school and that they are not drawn out of school to be breadwinners at an early stage,” he urged.
Parent Month is being observed this year under the theme ‘Parent the Right Way- Read, Talk, Play with Your Child Every Day’.