PHILIPSBURG--Parents desirous of taking their school-age children off-island for non-medical issues before the official start of the July 6 vacation are not likely to receive permission from the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.
The Inspectorate said it will not be granting any extended vacation to parents who want to travel before the last official day of school July 6, 2016, unless in cases of emergencies.
When requesting an exemption in case of an emergency, the applicant must provide a completed exemption form, which can be obtained at the Inspectorate’s office; a copy of the parent/guardian and student’s passport; ticket reservations for student and the person travelling with the student; a supporting document that validates the emergency and states exactly why the applicant requesting to take the student out of school for this particular period.
The documents must be submitted to the Inspectorate of Education at the Brooks Tower Building, Harbour View, Falcon Drive #7, located between the Governor’s Cabinet and Social and Health Insurances SZV Building.
The Inspectorate said parents who “unlawfully” take their child(ren) out of school before this period can be penalised. The details of the penalisation was not expounded on.
