#BTColumn – Are Governments abridging the rights of parents?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

By Lenrod Nzulu Baraka

As the culture war heats up in the Caribbean parents are beginning to ask the same kinds of questions that conservative Christian parents and others have been asking all over the world. Conservative Christian parent have long been questioning the right of governments to teach values to children that directly contradict the values of the parents. Evolution and LGBTQQIP2SAA rights are two of the hot potatoes that are sure to raise voices and tempers globally.

The current controversy raging in Barbados between the Ministry of Education and a number of parents who have voiced their concerns about the survey that was recently conducted among first formers at five secondary schools seems to be heading towards the courts. In a very impassionate discourse delivered to parents and other interested parties, University of the West Indies Lecturer in Philosophy Felicia Dujon stated that a legal wrong had been committed by the government and that parents and other interested parties should seek a legal solution.

Citing sections in the Education Act and the Data Protection Act Ms. Dujon stated that the law had been broken and that parents should take government to task and seek some kind of compensation for the harm that was done to the children affected by the survey. Ms. Dujon was of the opinion that the sensitive nature of the survey demanded prior notice to parents. She added that under the Data Protection Act permission of the parents should have been secured before the survey was administered.

Ms. Dujon also argued that some kind of legal precedent had to be set in Barbados to prevent a breach of this magnitude in the future. The courts were therefore in the best position to set this legal precedent, to curtail the powers of the state going forward and to award compensation to those affected. In concluding Ms. Dujon stated that parental rights must not be abridged since the children are the prime responsibility of the parents.

A modest crowd gathered at Trevor’s Way to hear Ms. Dujon deliver her discourse. The modest nature of the crowd did not in any way dampen the enthusiasm of those present. Ms. Dujon’s presentation was augmented by liberal doses of crowd response encouraging her to speak the truth because as one lady quipped, “Our God is in control.”

It is very evident that trends in the wider world are impacting us here in the Caribbean. This current controversy can however serve as a foundation stone for educational policy in the Caribbean going forward. Both government and parents have a stake in the educational process and both need to work together to ensure the best outcome for the children of our region. As such therefore governments around the region need to be more vigilant especially when dealing with content that originates outside the Caribbean region.

Parents need to be kept in the loop so that their input can help shape educational policies and practices. Secrecy and underhand methodologies will only bring short term gains that could easily be eroded by the legal quagmire that can result from taking shortcuts and not following ethical procedures. Now that the children have told on the government it is left with the parents to decide what redress they will seek from the law courts. This was the final salvo delivered by Ms. Dujon.

Lenrod Nzulu Baraka is the founder of Afro-Caribbean Spiritual Teaching Center.º