Parents’ group demands national response to school violence crisis

The Group of Concerned Parents of Barbados has called for urgent action from national leaders to tackle the recent surge in school violence.

The organisation has demanded that either the Minister of Education or the Prime Minister publicly address the issue and outline a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing crisis.

Paula-Anne Moore, spokesperson for the group, emphasised the need for high-level intervention: “The time has come, there have been so many of these incidents we need to hear from the minister and or the prime minister specifically relating to these incidents of violence in the schools. I think that would go a long way to give some kind of assurance to the people of Barbados that they acknowledge that there are issues relating to violence within the school, and what is the strategy that is in place.”

Since the start of the academic year, Barbados has witnessed a series of violent incidents in schools, including student-onstudent attacks and an alleged assault on a teacher by a parent. Moore noted that these occurrences are symptomatic of broader societal issues, including a rise in gun violence across the island.

The group advocates for a multi-faceted national strategy, including enhanced school security measures such as metal detectors and additional security personnel, improved mental health support services, and increased community collaboration to address root causes of violence.

Moore stressed the importance of involving young people in finding solutions: “I think at many different levels, whether it’s community leaders, whether it’s faith leaders, whether it’s in the schools having programmes via the PTAs or otherwise that we need to speak to the children, maybe find out from the children, what are their issues, what they think as well involve the children in solutions. That might be a strategy that we need to incorporate.”

Expressing concern over the current situation, Moore said: “Any right-thinking human being in Barbados should be appalled and frankly scared by these incidents. But we need to obtain a statement from the authorities to give us a sense as to the magnitude of the problem and what are the emergency measures that are being put in place to give society, the children, the teachers, all of the staff at the school some comfort level that when they come to school, they can focus on the job of learning and not be concerned about physical safety in the school.”

The group supports proposals by teachers’ unions for separate institutions for disruptive students as a last resort. Moore cautioned, however, that such measures must be implemented sensitively to avoid stigmatisation and ensure adequate resources are provided.

“Some of these children need to be taken out of the school environment and put in a specific environment with trained expert professionals that can give them the counselling, the behavioural management while dealing with their academic and vocational needs as well,” she explained, adding that this approach could prevent behaviour from becoming “irredeemable”. (SM)