With Government looking to reform the education system, calls have been made for increased focus on boys, while more questions have been raised about the transition to junior and senior colleges of excellence.
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, in closing remarks Wednesday night at the third town hall meeting on proposals to transform the sector, acknowledged that the discussions, including from two previous public meetings, showed that more work is needed to address the special needs of boys.
Theresa Patterson told the session, held at Princess Margaret Secondary School in Six Roads, St Philip, she was bothered boys were being left behind and not being brought along.
She said the genetics of boys and girls were different, adding that she had a nine-year-old boy who was musically inclined and played a number of instruments.
Her concern, also raised by others during the consultation and at previous sessions, was that boys were encouraged to earn money from illegal drugs and engage in gang violence. (HH)