By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 100 people have called the national school attendance hotline to report absent students since its launch earlier this year, according to acting Education Director Dominique McCartney-Russell.

She said the programme had enabled school attendance officers to locate absent children and speak with their parents.

In some cases, she said officers discovered that students were missing class due to a lack of basic needs.

“As a result of us finding those children, we’re able to support those parents,” she told reporters. “We kind of create a one-stop shop for parents so they understand that, listen, there’s no reason for children to be at home during school hours. They should be in school. And so we’re going to support you to ensure that students come to school.”

 Her comments came on the sidelines of yesterday’s meet and greet with members of the student development section.

 She also discussed the impact of AI on education, noting public discourse surrounding the issue.

 She said there have been suggestions that tools like ChatGPT could encourage cheating, but Ministry of Education officials do not share that concern.

 “We believe that the use of artificial intelligence will promote student achievement,” she said. “Students will have access to programmes that will allow them to build their capacity and so we want to connect with them.”

 She had previously told The Tribune that officials are drafting a policy concerning students using artificial intelligence.

 She added that officials are gathering student input to guide local policy on AI usage in academic work.