ST JAMES, Jamaica —Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dana Morris Dixon, is encouraging parents to remain actively engaged in their children’s lives after they transition to high school, stressing that the teenage years are a critical period when young people need parental guidance and support the most.

Speaking during the Ministry’s Second Annual Region Six Principals’ Retreat at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny on Tuesday, Morris Dixon noted that many parents become less involved in their children’s education after they complete the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations, despite the fact that students often encounter increasing social and academic challenges as they transition to high school.

She pointed out that the ministry has been closely monitoring truancy among secondary school students, including those who have not returned to school since Hurricane Melissa, noting that attendance remains a concern.