00:00The government will soon introduce three pieces of legislation relating to parents and students, among them a bill which could
00:08see parents being held responsible for their children's actions. The NPTA gave an overview and first impressions ahead of parliamentary
00:18debate.
00:18One, restricted access to social media for children under 12. And this is nothing new. In Australia and in France,
00:35those laws are already in place.
00:37Because parents, when you are in your bedroom and your 11-year-old is in his or her bedroom, under
00:46the blanket with his or her device, you will be amazed to know what is taking place with the device
00:54at 1am, 2am, 3am in the morning.
01:012. The amendment to modernise the Education Act. It's coming. Look out. Look out for the modernisation of the Education
01:12Act. And in my personal view, it's a little too late. But better late than never.
01:19And thirdly, the law to develop a parental responsibility framework to address school violence.
01:33Parents, take note. You're going to be hearing a lot from the National NPTA because, again, our voices will be
01:40heard in this parliamentary too.
01:42As it concerns the last piece of legislation, Stewart tells TV6 News, the association will take opposition when the details
01:52of the bill are made public.
01:53However, he notes, there are parents who are trying hard to guide, nurture and train their children. Yet the children
02:01still go astray.
02:03He says it may therefore be unfair to punish these parents for their children's actions.
02:08The association is suggesting intervention for early offenders and says if parents do not cooperate, then the law should take
02:17its course.
02:18The NPTA is, however, appealing to the government to get ahead of the problem of school indiscipline and school violence
02:26by starting at the ECC level.
02:28One, putting in place a situation where you can diagnose students from the get-go screening, besides the physical screening,
02:39auditory screening, visual screening, let our social workers and our school counsellors, guidance counsellors,
02:49get into our rooms, meet with the parents, understand what their needs are and see how best we can support
02:56the needs of the parents.
03:00Meantime, Justice Gillian Lockey is sharing the following recommendation to lawmakers as it relates to the NPTA Act.
03:08And it's the use of the word of parents. Many persons are performing the role of parents, even though they
03:17are not the biological mother or father.
03:20Daniels, custodians, we recognize those people.
03:25Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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