Minister calls for greater collaboration to tackle violence among students

There is a call for greater collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) and Jamaicans locally and in the diaspora, to tackle the culture of violent confrontations among students in schools.

Addressing a seminar, dubbed ‘Violence in Schools and its Impact on Society’, at the First Assembly of God in Ocho Rios, St Ann, on Sunday, February 26, Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams emphasised that a “participatory approach” is critical to curb the prevalence of peer violence, which is sometimes meted out to the teaching staff.

“It’s not just the MOEY and its regional offices; it’s not just our principals and teachers on the ground; it is also parents and communities … an all-Jamaica approach. Let us join hands and see if we can significantly reduce the level of violence that we are seeing in our schools,” said the minister.

She noted that the ministry has already launched an ‘End the Violence’ initiative in schools that calls on Jamaicans and organisations to support efforts to create and sustain a culture of discipline and peace in the home, school and community.

Additionally, Williams said that the ministry’s Safety and Security Unit is active in schools to promote the well-being of students and staff.

“In developing our Safety and Security Policy Guidelines, we have included guidelines for the management of substance misuse in the school system, safety guidelines for contact sports, field trip policy guidelines, management and disposal of hazardous material and equipment,” she explained.

“You might be saying what does this have to do with violence in school. We have found that anything can trigger a dispute and, in the absence of clear guidelines on how to address these, disagreements over seemingly minor matters can escalate to the point of physical combat,” she added.

She said the ministry intends to expand the programmes to facilitate the resocialisation of students [but] “we have to come together to see how we can stop this violence that we are seeing in our schools”.

The seminar was organised by the Kiwanis Club of St Ann and featured participants from the parish’s teaching fraternity, as well as members of the diaspora, who joined via an online platform.

They discussed strategies and made recommendations on how to address the impact of violence among students.