Guidance counsellors in the Ministry of Education and Youth’s region one area which covers a significant section of inner-city communities, are finding underage gambling to be a challenging issue.
“There’s a myriad of social issues,” commented Ian Grant, guidance counsellor and school chaplain of St Andrew Technical High School for the last nine years.
“With daily survival on the line for many households, underage gambling is simply a part of it,” he contended.
Grant, who attended a recent underage gambling prevention training by RISE Life Management Services, sponsored by the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), emphasised the importance of the training to enhance his role.
The Education Ministry's directive for guidance counsellors and deans of discipline across all regions to attend such workshops stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with RISE Life, which was signed in September 2021. The MOU provides resources and tools that have made it easier to integrate the training into school programmes.
“It's clearly value added,” Grant remarked.
“After returning from the seminars, my first task is to present the material to the teaching staff, who will then integrate it into the guidance counselling programme as part of the preventive strategy. The material and available resources help to better engage and support students facing challenges,” he elaborated.
Stakeholders are also addressed – parents and community members, with presentations especially at PTA meetings. Come Parent Month in November, underage gambling prevention is to receive special focus, as gambling, Grant said, ‘is deeply rooted in communities. We must keep interfacing with stakeholders if we are to make a difference.”
Executive Director of the BGLC, Vitus Evans, said it is clear that addressing underage gambling requires a collaborative effort, particularly in communities where it has become ingrained.
“Through our partnerships and training initiatives, we are equipping educators and community members with the tools they need to make a real impact on the lives of young people,” he stated.
In the 2023–2024 period, RISE Life Management Services engaged over 2,000 parents and community members. Additionally, over 360 guidance counsellors were trained across the island in underage gambling prevention, and over 30,000 school-based youngsters were sensitised on the ills of underage gambling and appropriate alternatives – the most students ever engaged locally in a single year.
