Revise PATH programme

I am writing this letter on behalf of those persons who are living below the poverty line and are not eligible for assistance through PATH. Many of these persons are apparently deemed not eligible because they have access to modern amenities such as piped water, flush toilets, gas stove, television set, etc.

Why should modern amenities be the grounds for which persons are not able to benefit from the PATH programme? To me, poor (based on the question on the PATH form) is determined on the basis of where persons are living without modern amenities, or persons who cannot afford to upgrade their lifestyle to have access to theses amenities.

On the behalf of these less fortunate Jamaicans, I am appealing to those in charge of the PATH programme, along with the minister of education, to revisit the programme so that those children who are really in need of help can go to school. In addition, those in authority can implement a system where principals or teachers may refer students to the PATH programme based on the needs of the student(s).

Jayana McNeish

jayanamcneish@yahoo.com

What's wrong at the security ministry?

Is there some spell over the Ministry of National Security? Since the Jamaica Labour Party won the election and formed the Government we have had two ministers falling ill and one resigning.

I know that this is a very stressful position to have in a country like ours, but I still do believe that there are a number of strong people around who would take up this challenge and do a good job of it. Sometimes, to solve a problem one has to think outside of the box. A country like ours needs an independent body to deal with security and they must work in conjunction with Ministry of Education. The best way to solve crime is to prevent it, which can only be done through education.

It is a well-known fact that most of our criminals today are young people who are more heartless than those before them. If we want to solve our crime problem we have to start curbing our youngsters while eliminating those who feed them from the top.

Andrew Holness was wrong when he suggested some years ago that Jamaicans should invest in education for the overseas market in order to get more remittances. If we should do this then we will always remain dependent instead of independent.

Crime is just the end result of the cake. The problem is in the ingredients and the baker's knowledge of baking.

W. MATHISON

New York