Education Minister Premila Kumar says if children are roaming the streets during school hours then relevant authorities including police will take action.
She made the comment in Parliament on Friday in response to a supplementary question by Opposition MP Ro Teimumu Kepa who asked the minister to bring issues such as young teenagers and children roaming the streets at night to be discussed during the Teachers Talanoa Platform.
“But if children are roaming the streets during school hours, then obviously the Fiji Police Force and other stakeholders step in to help the ministry,” Mrs Kumar said.
She said anything that happens in the school was the responsibility of teachers but when the school ends and when the students go home, that becomes the responsibility of the parents.
“I hope you all understand that you cannot push the parental responsibility on the State, you should not do that.”
Mrs Kumar while speaking on the talanoa platform said the ministry launched the platform last year in September to serve a professional group of 13,000 teachers.
She said the online platform was created by the ministry to allow teachers to communicate with one another and with the ministry.
Mrs Kumar said the platform allowed teachers to share their ideas, views and vision which will help the ministry to transform education for the future of our children.
“We felt that as educators, teachers have a critical role to play in shaping the lives of our children, therefore, they should have a say in what the ministry does.
“It is, therefore, important that the teachers get a chance to have their say on the curriculum, they should have their say on the resources that we provide or the changes that are being introduced in the school.”
