Last week we had the unfortunate and grim task of reporting on a stabbing incident at the Parkinson Secondary School. Contrary to popular belief, the media, takes no pleasure in having to present these types of details to you. Reality is that the incident not only affected those physically involved, but the entire student body, the school and their relatives as well. These violent acts are not isolated and therefore the impact is great.
It was in October that an altercation between two male students took place just miles away at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology (SJPI). That incident left one of them with stab wounds to his abdomen and neck.
We recall that in our October 14, 2022 Editorial headlined: “Authorities must get ahead of school violence” we urged parents, education and law enforcement authorities to be more proactive and less reactive.
We reminded all concerned that on November 8, 2019, when a stabbing death at the Frederick Smith Secondary School was reported. Two students, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, were involved in a fight. The 16-year-old, Temario Holder of Checker Hall, St Lucy, died on the spot.
We also pointed out that in January 2020, a 14-year-old boy was one of two people charged with the shooting death of Marlon Holder as he was dropping his son off at St Alban’s Primary School.
Just ahead of the Michaelmas Term, prominent youth activist Roger Husbands declared that some members of violent gangs are in schools. He then called on law enforcement officials and the Ministry of Education to ensure the bloodshed did not make its way into educational institutions.
“…. You have young gangsters and you have young guys who are actually running gangs who will be going back into the school system and I want to encourage the Minister of Education from now to start to put plans in place for what might possibly happen,” he said in an interview with Barbados TODAY.
There is no denying on our part that the violence that has made its way into educational institutions is systemic of the larger societal issue. However, these violent acts are in schools that house hundreds of students daily.
President of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools Stephen Jackman condemned the violence pointing out that the larger societal issue must be addressed.
“Here we have young people with impressionable minds being exposed to this type of violence on a daily basis. It has to become normal for them to solve their problem in a violent way. We are concerned that society itself has become so violent that we are not leaving any room for the children to learn differently.”
His counterpart President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell, expressed the same concern. He said some behaviours by adults being seen in some homes around the island, are negatively impacting students.
“Any act of violence is a concern for the Barbados Union of Teachers, and even violence outside of schools because it negatively impacts the functioning of the school. Students are related to persons who are involved in violent acts, so to have students themselves perpetrating this form of violence is something that we don’t want.”
But, President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union Mary Ann Redman said teachers remain frustrated by the spate of the violence that continues in schools, despite their effort to stem the problem.
“After the tragedy at Frederick Smith we wrote a letter with recommendations to the ministry as potential attempts to address the issue. Some of them have been implemented, but in spite of this the violence continues. It is extremely frustrating, demoralising and frightening for our members as it should be for any parent or guardian with a child in the system.”
Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, all but confirmed Redman’s comments. The chief said the ministry continues to roll out a series of programmes across the schools to tackle the vexing issue.
“The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training has seen the videos circulating on social media. Yes, the kinds of fights that we are seeing are cause for concern. No, we are not turning a blind eye at all. As Barbadians these behaviours are not behaviours that we want to see.”
While we have no record of the Parents Teachers Association, speaking on the matter we believe that parents are just as worried about the issue. A senior police officer recently called on parents to take charge of their children.
But, amidst the concerns of education stakeholders, we continue to be faced with the menacing issue. Simply put, something has to give. We cannot allow the hoodlums who have already taken over streets to hijack these young minds as well. In turn, these criminal minds that wear school uniforms cannot be allowed to rob their schoolmates of a safe learning environment.
So, today, we take the call we made in our October 14 Editorial a step further. It is clear the time for getting ahead of the issue has long passed, therefore we are calling for all hands on deck as we wrestle this grave issue to the ground. We demand violent-free schools in our country. We will accept nothing less. Students must be able to secure their education in a peaceful, productive environment that is conducive to positive growth and development.
