MARIANAS High School Principal James A. Denight says he will not support the Board of Education’s proposal to extend the mandatory school age from 16 to 18.
In an interview, Denight said while the intention of the proposal may be good, it would create more problems in the long run.
“I think on the surface it sounds good. But if you want to keep students and make it a law, then what happens is you will lose a viable percentage of students that can no longer stay in school but want to stay in school,” he said.
The principal said in his five years as the head of the only public secondary school on the island, the more students are forced to attend school, the more they want to get out.
At 16, according to Denight, students are already decided whether they want to continue studying.
He said there are cases when some students have already made up their mind not to finish high school.
In such cases, Denight said MHS offers them some alternatives such as the adult basic education class or the GED.
“When we make it a requirement, it’s no longer desired. It’s my experience many, many years ago. We always make it desired not required. If you make it required, then there’s going to be an added administrative task that we’re going to need,” Denight said.
“We would need more attendance officers and more interaction with the juvenile authorities,” he added.
He said students forced to stay in school make teachers and other students “uncomfortable.”
“When you meet a 17-year-old who does not want to be in school, it’s going to be very uncomfortable for teachers and the students,” the principal said.
Board of Education Chairman Herman Guerrero earlier said they might extend the mandatory school age from 16 to 18 “to keep CNMI youths from trouble.”
