Editorial | New approach to violence in schools

THIS WEEK’S tragic killing of 16-year-old Khamal Hall by a fellow student of William Knibb High School in Trelawny has provoked a discussion about the supposed infiltration of Jamaica’s schools by the occult. It also reignited the long-standing debate on how to prevent violence in these institutions.

The occult bit is because the fight in which Khamal was stabbed was allegedly over a stolen ‘guard ring’, so-called because the ring, or at least similar ones, are believed to carry special powers to protect their wearers. Apparently, schools that have policies against students wearing jewellery have been confiscating increasing numbers of rings, including some that bear the skull and cross. Indeed, a photograph in this newspaper on Tuesday showed William Knibb’s acting principal, Audrey Steele, displaying several confiscated rings.

Quite reasonably, the immediate response to the William Knibb incident, and other episodes of violence elsewhere since the recent post-pandemic return to face-to-face classes, has been to call for the strengthening and expansion of the Safe Schools Programme, in which the constabulary assigns police to schools to help monitor, and hopefully prevent, violent incidents. There are 154 schools – approximately a fifth of all public schools above the kindergarten level – currently in the programme. According to Charmaine Shand, the assistant commissioner of police for community safety and security, 229 members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are assigned to the project. They are called school resources officers (SROs) and undergo training for the assignment.

This newspaper appreciates the concept of this project, which has been credited with defusing many potentially dangerous situations. Indeed, in many institutions, the SROs have become important members of the school community. However, we are not aware of any empirical assessment of how well this programme has worked, and whether assigning constables as SROs is the best use of the limited manpower of the JCF.

DEEPLY WORRYING STATISTICS

Further, while it is well known that, in common with the rest of the society, there is a problem of violence in schools, we are not aware, as happens in many jurisdictions, of an ongoing gathering of data on school violence. However, one study by a pair of researchers, at the turn of the century, found that nearly eight in 10 of Jamaica’s high schools claimed to have witnessed violence in their communities. Six in 10 said they had seen violence in schools, and over four in 10 in their homes. Approximately three in 10 said they had inflicted violence on others.

These are deeply worrying statistics, which we believe remain relevant in the current circumstances. The social dysfunction they suggest has hardly improved in the past two decades and, in some instances, may have worsened. With respect to schools, many children are returning to their classrooms after a hiatus of two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, having become badly maladjusted. During the first year of the suspension of face-to-face classes, schools had no contact whatsoever with 120,000 students, which is 29 per cent of the enrolment of primary and secondary schools. Additionally, of the students who logged into online classes, a good chunk, perhaps a third, were irregular.

The point is that, for all the failings of Jamaica’s education system, the island’s schools are, for many, important socialising environments as well as safe havens. School was also the place where some were assured of at least one meal. These certainties were disrupted.

CATCHING UP ON LEARNING LOSS

Although he may have been inelegant in his analysis and prognosis, Superintendent Christopher Phillips, the commander of the JCF’s St Catherine South Division, is worth taking seriously about the potential consequences of this prolonged break from school. During the period, he said, many children were unsupervised and became exposed to gangs. “... I am predicting that we are going to have hell for at least another year with these children returning to face-to-face classes,” he said.

The obvious need in the post-pandemic education situation, which has received most attention, is catching up on the learning loss of the past two years. But concomitant with that effort, as some analysts have pointed out, there is a social deficit to be addressed. Children, too, have faced the emotional and social stresses wrought by COVID-19. This is an opportunity, therefore, to start to respond to violence in school in a new way: as partially a health crisis affecting the mental well-being of children.

So, right beside the maths, social science and communication tasks specialists heading into classrooms to aid with the catching up, should be hordes of psychologists, psychiatrists, guidance counsellors and organisations that specialise in children support and violence-prevention programmes. For instance, an organisation such as PALS, with its track record of advancing anti-violence initiatives in schools, should be supported to reinvigorate and expand its programme.

The bottom line: there is no magic or guard ring to address the problem, just good sense and hard work.