PARENTAL involvement in the child's school is key to his development, said a Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman yesterday.

She said: 'For the child to benefit most, parental involvement is key, especially through positive collaboration and cooperation with the school.'

Not only can they complement the school's programmes, they can also join the school's parent support groups (PSGs) and be parent volunteers.

Those are ways for parents 'to gain a good understanding of the school and to share a common vision and goal for their children's development'.

This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the National Advisory Council, Compass, short for COMmunity and PArents in Support of Schools.

It was established to advise MOE on ways in which home-school-community collaborations can be strengthened and promoted.

One of its first key projects was to push for PSGs to be formed.

As at 2006, the percentage of schools with PSGs or parent-teacher associations has gone from 40 per cent to 91 per cent.

This article was first published in The New Paper on 9 Oct, 2008..