Our Schools—Time for Action

Recently, we were jolted by another violent incident within our educational institutions—last Wednesday’s stabbing at the Barbados Community College, which left a male student with several wounds to his torso and another student being remanded to Dodds on Monday when he appeared in court in connection with the incident.

Violence produces no winners. Hence, zero tolerance for the scourge from all of us is the only response.

If that incident wasn’t jarring enough, the troubling revelation from the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) about the escalating violence and trauma the island’s educators are forced to handle while doing their jobs must trigger concern and, more so, serious action.

The reports of physical assaults on teachers, threats, and what BUT president Rudy Lovell called a “toxic environment” paint a disturbing picture of institutions that should be safe havens for learning.

Lovell said: “The situation has gone beyond mere indiscipline. Students are engaging in inappropriate behaviour, including extortion and gambling, turning schools into danger zones instead of learning environments. Some teachers find themselves unable to conduct lessons due to constant disruption, while others face intimidation, not just from students but from administrators who dismiss or downplay serious infractions. Some students see schools as blocks, spaces where disorder, lawlessness, and survival should take precedence over education.”

This situation is clearly untenable. Teachers, already facing other challenges, are now contending with the threat of violence. We all expect to go to work and perform our jobs in safe environments.

We can ill afford to lose teachers due to unsafe working conditions. One can only imagine the long-term, devastating consequences for our children and the education system.

We strongly agree with Lovell that this isn’t just a school issue, but a national crisis that demands immediate and comprehensive action.

Last October, Minister of Education Kay McConney unveiled a plan to tackle school violence. Measures included the deployment of additional social workers in schools in collaboration with the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs across schools, the launch of a new parenting programme in partnership with Parents Education for Development in Barbados (PAREDOS), the hiring of more psychologists, and the expansion of mental health literacy training to primary school principals and staff.

In light of the recent developments, the public deserves an update from education officials on the status of the plan’s implementation and additional measures to address the challenges and improve the teaching environment.

We note the BUT’s protocol on handling student-on-teacher violence as commendable and a necessary first step. However, protocols alone are not enough. We need a multi-pronged approach to address this complex issue.

First, we must acknowledge the severity of the problem. Pretending it doesn’t exist or dismissing it as mere indiscipline will only allow it to fester. Second, schools must have clear and enforced disciplinary policies so students clearly understand that violent and disruptive behaviour will have consequences.

Third, principals must take all reports of violence seriously and provide teachers with the full support they need. This includes not only disciplinary action against offending students but also providing resources and counselling for affected teachers.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, we need to address the root causes of this violence. This requires a broader societal conversation about parenting and the state of our homes.

Former President of the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors Saul Leacock warned in an interview last week with this media house that “children are becoming more and more aggressive and it has a lot to do with the fact that children are unhappy…. There are many factors responsible for children behaving aggressively…. One is what they see within the home. Children of that nature are involved in fights and so on come from a depressogenic environment where there’s a lot of fighting and quarrelling and cursing and lashing out at the parents.”

Parents must play a crucial role in helping to reverse this negative trend. Instead of being defensive, parents must work in partnership with teachers to address their children’s behaviour.

The deviance we are seeing in our classrooms is a reflection of deeper issues that we can no longer ignore. If we fail to act—if we allow our schools to become places of fear and intimidation—we are not only failing our teachers, but we are failing our children and jeopardising the future of our nation.

It’s time to reclaim our schools as places of learning, respect, and safety.