‘MADNESS’

“This is madness!” That’s how Education and Youth Minister Fayval Williams has described the 55 critical incidents that occurred every 3.5 days across the education sector over the 190 schooldays spanning January 2022 to January 2023.

In her contribution to the Sectoral Debate yesterday, Williams also revealed that, for the current school year, 79 educational institutions have reported bomb threats.

The education minister signalled that, in recent times, more fights involving students have taken place off school premises. She expressed surprise that, in the videos showing the incidents, there were no signs that adults had attempted to intervene to stop the fights.

“In those videos, we are not seeing adults intervening. Instead we see students encouraging and egging on the fight while they video,” she said.

“The fights that happen on school premises, I know that the principals, deans of discipline, senior teachers and other adults rush to intervene, which reduces the severity of the fight.”

Sending a clear message to students, Williams said that violence is unacceptable, on or off school premises.

The education minister conceded that school violence has overshadowed the efforts of principals, teachers, parents, students and the Ministry of Education and Youth.

She explained that “school violence is student violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school, on the way to or from school-sponsored events, or during school-sponsored events”.

These violent incidents, according to the education minister, disrupt learning and have a negative effect on students, schools and the broader communities.

“It is instructive to note that the 55 critical incidents occurred at 50 different schools – 15 primary and 35 high schools. Five of the schools had two critical incidents each,” she said.

Williams told her parliamentary colleagues that the incidents range from gang violence to physical assault, to robbery, to break-ins at the school. She also mentioned school bus accidents, alleged sexual grooming, drowning, vandalism, stabbing, attempted abduction, brawls, physical altercations, fires and an alleged sexual assault.

Incidents too frequent

Williams said while 50 schools represent approximately five per cent of the total number of primary and secondary schools in the education sector, these incidents of school violence and assaults on school property are too frequent for a small society such as Jamaica.

While acknowledging that the education sector had a role to play in addressing violent incidents in schools, Williams argued that it was the treatment that children received at home and in their communities that often determined their state of mind when they arrived at school.

“It is the very loud music and selectors screaming at the top of their voices until the wee hours of the morning during a school night in many communities that determine if our children arrive at school fully rested or simply exhausted from lack of sleep and just want to put their heads on the desk,” she said.

“It is the lewd lyrics being broadcast in some of the public passenger vehicles that our students have to travel in to get to school that will determine if they arrive at school in a calm spirit or sexually charged,” she added.

She also bemoaned the access that children had to weapons and drugs and their exposure to violent incidents at home and within their communities.

Collective effort

Williams noted that the responsibility to eradicate incidents of violence in schools was not the sole purview of the schools or the education ministry, but required a collective effort to include the help of parents and the community.

The education minister said her ministry had designed a multi-pronged approach to prevent school violence.

She highlighted the safety and security policy which sets out how to implement physical security measures such as searches of students’ school bags, organising training programmes for school personnel to recognise warning signs and intervene effectively, and counselling at-risk individuals. It also involves developing crisis and emergency plans, assigning roles for students, parents, and the community, and addressing and resolving conflicts in a constructive manner.

The minister also commented on a raft of other programmes school-wide positive behaviour interventions and support, health and family life education, counselling services to include fully funded counselling from external clinicians, and civics education, among others.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com