Tackle school violence or lose trust, veteran educator warns Education Ministry

A leading academic has warned that unless clear and enforceable measures to tackle school violence are in place before the start of the new school year, public confidence in the education system could be further eroded.

Dr Ian Marshall, a seasoned educator with more than three decades’ experience across all levels of the teaching profession, told Barbados TODAY that while he supported the Ministry of Education’s recent declaration of zero tolerance for school violence, words alone would not suffice. The real test, he said, lies in whether those in authority are prepared—and equipped—to enforce the law with consistency and urgency.

“If they are going to do it, use existing structures between now and September,” he urged. “The longer you take to implement it, the more people will assume you’re just talking but not really walking.”

Dr Marshall was responding to the ministry’s recent announcement that it intends to begin enforcing section 64 of the Education Act, which outlines offences related to disturbances in schools, abuse of teachers, and assaults on staff or students. Offenders can face up to six months in prison, a $500 fine, or both.

Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer-Bradshaw last month issued a circular to all principals, directing them to remind pupils, parents and guardians of the legislation following a spate of violent incidents in schools, some of which left teachers injured.

But Dr Marshall warned that declarations alone would not be enough to address the root of the problem.

“You need to send a clear message to all and sundry that if you allow your children to engage in behaviours that are inconsistent with what we would call good discipline within the context of a school environment, then there should be consequences,” he said.

“Once you communicate to students and parents alike that they can come into a school and visit violence on teachers or students or anybody for that matter, then you’re going to have no end of it.”

The veteran educator said the ministry must go beyond statements and install practical systems to ensure the policy can be upheld across the country’s 80-plus primary and secondary schools.

“While it is easy to speak in glowing terms or in an assertive voice that you are going to be enforcing the legislation, the task now is actually enforcing it—and for several reasons,” he cautioned. “What systems are going to be put in place to facilitate something like this?”

He proposed expanding the Juvenile Liaison Scheme or creating a specialised unit to manage school infractions, noting that even a short-term taskforce could send the right message.

“You may have a taskforce for one term, but the idea is to communicate the message that this is a zero-tolerance place. This is a place of serious business. That is the message you want to communicate.”

Dr Marshall expressed concern that many students, particularly those under the age of 16, believe they are beyond the reach of accountability due to their age.

“There are too many persons who feel they can come into the schools, injure teachers deliberately, and then walk away because they say, ‘I am a minor, so you can’t do me anything’,” he said.

While the Juvenile Offenders Act does provide some protection for minors—defining a child as someone under 14 and a young person as aged 14 to under 16—Marshall stressed that serious infractions often begin well before pupils reach legal maturity.

“Some of these problems start all the way from second and third form,” he said. “So even as you use the age limit of 16, you have to look and see how you’re going to address the younger people too.”

The law stipulates that no child under 14 shall be imprisoned, and that young people under 16 should only be jailed if there is no alternative, and even then must not be placed with adult prisoners.

Dr Marshall urged authorities to act swiftly over the summer, using existing mechanisms rather than reinventing the wheel.

“You don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “You already have the Junior Liaison Scheme. If you want to attach more officers to that unit and give them oversight for managing instances such as these, you can use existing structures to facilitate it.”

He also warned of a longstanding “implementation deficit” in Barbados, where policies are often well-intentioned but poorly executed.

“We are very good at conceptualising things, but then we suffer from an implementation deficit,” Marshall said. “And the worst thing you can do is to declare to all and sundry that you’re going to be doing something, and then when the cases emerge, there is a lack of follow-through.”

Such failure, he stressed, would not only undermine the credibility of the initiative but also further weaken the authority of teachers and school leaders.

“If you say you are going to be enforcing the law and then you fail to enforce it, you are doing more damage to the school system than anything else. It will be observed, and that will further undermine the authority of principals and teachers and the entire educational system.”

Dr Marshall made clear that the time for rhetoric has passed: “You are going into an area that has not been tackled seriously before. So the legislative work must be supported by operational readiness. Otherwise, you’re making a public declaration that falls flat.” 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb