UN official commends Jamaica’s progress on children’s rights

United Nations Resident Coordinator Dennis Zulu has praised Jamaica for making significant progress in protecting the rights of children, highlighting the country's robust legal and institutional systems already in place to support their welfare.

"We have done quite a lot in terms of the rights of the children, Jamaica's ratified all the appropriate conventions and legislation, treaties and protocols and has domesticated those in local law," Zulu told THE STAR.

"We have institutional support. We have the legal support that's already in place."

However, when it comes to how children are educated, Zulu emphasised that rights must still be protected--even at home. The UN representative was asked whether parents unknowingly violate their child's right to education by choosing to homeschool. Zulu said that while homeschooling is a right parents can exercise, it comes with responsibilities.

"In situations like that, there must be standards prescribed by the local authorities to ensure that if you're going to teach a child or do homeschooling, it must meet a minimum standard," he said. "You can't just say, 'I'm going to teach my child at home,' and what you're teaching them does not meet the minimum prescribed standard."

In Jamaica, the Ministry of Education has clear guidelines for homeschooling. Parents must apply to the Minister of Education, submitting a comprehensive plan that outlines the subjects, timetable, teaching methods, and learning materials. The ministry reviews the application and either approves or denies it. Once approved, the child's education is monitored regularly, and ministry officers may visit the home to assess the learning environment and track the student's progress.

Homeschooling in Jamaica falls under the broader umbrella of independent education, governed by the Education Act. The law requires that instruction must be "adequate and efficient," and that the person delivering it is deemed fit and proper. Detailed records must be kept, and the ministry reserves the right to conduct inspections at any time.

Zulu stressed that oversight is essential, as even well-intentioned parents may not always provide the quality of education a child deserves.

"There must be a mechanism through the Ministry of Education or a specific body to be able to come to you and say, 'Look, let's see what you're doing, and does this lie within what's permissible or acceptable for homeschooling or not?'" he said. "The child also has the right to go to school and acquire a good education. Not what the parent thinks but what meets the standard of good education."

While Zulu commended Jamaica's legal framework, he said greater effort is needed at the grassroots level to raise awareness about children's rights.

"The problem with children otherwise, starts from the home. So what needs to be done most is about educating communities, educating families about the rights of the children, that they should be respected," he said.

"The sensitisation, the education [and] what the rights of the children are, are very critical in that aspect."