The occasion will be another of the town hall meetings being staged by the National Advisory Commission On Education (NACE). The sessions are open to everyone, as the widest possible participation is being sought at the meetings being held across the island.

Cyril Burke, secretary to NACE and an administrative officer with the Research and Planning Unit of the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, said attendance at meetings held to date had been disappointing.

Both the ministry and the committee chaired by Dr Letnie Rock want to hear the views of parents, teachers, guardians and anyone else who has suggestions on the way forward for education so that a new draft policy for education in the 21st century could be developed.

He said they were taking the meetings to all areas of Barbados but if people had difficulty getting there, they could mail their recommendations to the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development, Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, or email them to nace.moe@gmail.com.

The topics for discussions include co-education; substance abuse and negative subcultures; discipline in schools; quality education for students with special needs; student transfer from primary to secondary; curriculum and nation building; and structure of the educational system. In addition, teacher professional development, support services in schools, integration of information and communication technology in education, and violence in schools will be discussed, but individuals can raise other areas of concern at the meeting.

Burke said they hope to wrap up the sessions by mid-June, and thereafter meetings will be held with special interest groups such as the private sector, student guilds and trade unions. (WB)