Dear Editor,

May is Child Month, when we place special focus on our children, especially those that are most vulnerable during this time.

I am concerned about the many students who come to school each day without the benefit of a hot meal in the mornings and have to wait until lunchtime for the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) lunch because he or she can’t afford to purchase something to eat. As an educator, I see cases like this every day.

It is a fact that the PATH lunches provided serve as motivation for some students to come to school. However, many of them suffer from stomach distress during the morning sessions because they did not get a meal before coming to school. In some cases, the students’ last meal is the PATH lunch that was served at school the day before.

These children start the day at school with a deficit because they are hungry and become preoccupied with wanting something to eat instead of focusing on their lessons. There are some students whose parents genuinely can’t afford to give them breakfast in the mornings. School officials know these students and can easily assist in identifying them by way of a means test.

As an educator of over 20 years, I am acutely aware of the fact that the morning sessions are the best time for learning to take place during the days; therefore, it makes perfect sense to ensure that our students are not distracted by an empty stomach during this period.

I know it takes cash to care, but the Ministry of Education needs to find a way to introduce a breakfast programme in all schools. The Church can be approached to help individual schools with their breakfast programmes through their outreach and welfare ministries. Service clubs and community groups can also be approached to partner with the programme.

Education as a product has a lot of goodwill and social capital in Jamaica and we must take full advantage of it to create a better educational product that influences a happier and healthier learning environment for our children. Our education system requires broad stakeholder involvement for it to work. It is a partnership that requires strategic leadership.

The word is always love for our children.

Andre A O Wellington

Dean of discipline

Alston High School

andrewellington344@yahoo.com