By Anesta Henry
As the Ministry of Education grapples with a spate of violence among students, Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw is warning parents not to encourage their children to take weapons to school.
She said she was disappointed with reports that some adults have been telling their children to “carry [a weapon] to school and defend yourself if anybody trouble you”.
“This practice needs to stop. Weapons have no place in school and I urge parents to desist from this practice. I urge parents to help us in this fight against violence, search your children’s bags regularly,” Archer-Bradshaw said on Friday as she delivered the keynote address at the launch of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme at the Frederick Smith Secondary School.
She urged parents to reprimand their charges when necessary and correct worrisome behaviour, even as she acknowledged that some have been trying exceedingly hard to steer their children on the right path.
Since the start of the new term, security guards at the Frederick Smith Secondary School have been searching and scanning children as they arrive. However, one boy was stabbed by another male student outside the school premises last week.
Archer-Bradshaw disclosed that school safety officer Sharon Brandford and counsellor Laurel Springer have since been put in place to assist in keeping the educational institution safe.
Principal Stephen Jackman explained that the safety officer will be responsible for implementing programmes that not only address student behaviours but other hazards as well.
“I am comfortable that we are doing things to make the place safe,” he said.
“There are no weapons on this compound; the weapons are usually stashed outside the compound. So yes, the scanning has helped tremendously. The searches have also helped tremendously. The problem is that we can’t control the behaviours outside. We can’t control the people who hold things for students outside the school and return them to them on evenings.”
Psychologist with the Ministry of Education, Juanita Brathwaite-Wharton said the placement of the safety officer and counsellor was part of the Ministry’s mandate to put measures in place to assist students who are having challenges and to ensure the school is a safe environment.
“We obviously are working through providing social and emotional programming, not just for students with challenges but for the general student body, so that we can look at the issues that cause violence in schools,” Brathwaite-Wharton said.
