More than 200 cases of truancy have been addressed by the Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education during the last academic year and, according to Chief Schools Welfare Officer, Banmattie Ram, several of them have been linked to poverty and parental negligence.And to address this major problem,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the Welfare Unit is slated to commence intensified campaigns, according to Ram.The officer’s disclosure came yesterday when she updated the media on the response that the Welfare Unit has been engaging to tackle certain social issues that have been affecting students in schools across the country.In the last academic year, Ram said, 87 truancy cases were found in Region Three, 57 in Region Four, 203 in Region Five, 276 in Region Six, 22 in Region Seven, 16 in Region 10, and 89 in Georgetown, following several campaigns.Once found to be a truant, a student is usually referred to the Department of Education within their respective region, through which an investigation commences to determine the root cause of the truant behaviour.According to Ram, it has been observed in many cases that poverty has been the main reason that some parents are unable to send their children to school.“Reports have come in that children stay away because their parents cannot afford to send them to school. So we have looked into collaborating with social welfare services and other persons in communities who would want to assist these children.”Negligence on the part of the parents has also been observed as another major reason for truancy, Ram said.Having detected truancy cases, Ram said that follow-up programmes are effected to ensure that students remain in school. According to her, only a meagre percentage of students are repeat truants.Ram said that, since the Welfare Unit has a major emphasis on bringing back children into the school system, efforts have been made to investigate and take action as it relates to children not attending school.“From time to time our School Welfare Officers will engage in home visits and visits to schools. For this year, every month our officers are going to engage in one major operation – a care campaign along with mini-campaigns where we target hideouts and visit certain communities from which we get calls from citizens.”According to Ram, the care campaign,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, which is expected to be robust, will target several areas known for encouraging the truancy practice.She said that during January alone four campaigns were conducted in Berbice, and approximately 175 students were picked up and processed. Ram said that letters were given to some of them to be re-admitted to school,Jerseys NFL Wholesale China, while others were assisted with getting their birth certificates, and they have been exposed to counselling sessions which are ongoing.And in order to boost the efficacy of the welfare department countrywide, Ram said that a number of additional officers have been retained.According to Ram,Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys, the Schools Welfare Department will this year endeavour to relate more with children through Parent/Teacher Association meetings and through home visits.Many truants, according to Ram,China Jerseys, come from homes where parents are living abroad,Wholesale Football Jerseys, or homes that are simply dysfunctional, thus the need to urgently consult with parents or guardians.