Education Minister says more work needed to curb school violence

Despite the Ministry of Education's efforts to tackle violence in schools, Portfolio Minister Fayval Williams says more work must be done to adequately address the underlying issues contributing to the problem.

While addressing today's third and final day of the Jamaica Teachers' Association's (JTA) 60th Annual Conference at in Trelawny, Williams acknowledged that school violence continues to plague the education sector despite the safety and security policy which has been implemented for institutions.

“There have been too many instances of maladaptive behaviour, and when ugly incidents occur, they loom large in the public's consciousness and overshadow all the efforts of our principals, our teachers, [and] our parents. We have to redouble our efforts and recommit to tackling this problem using a multiplicity of strategies,” Williams told the meeting.

In May this year, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called for a reassessment of schools' security risk following a series of violent incidents, including the fatal May 13 stabbing of Akeilia White, a student of the Catholic College of Mandeville, by one of her schoolmates.

Williams also told Wednesday's meeting that while her ministry has worked with the Ministry of Justice in putting 12,000 students from 500 schools through its restorative justice training programme, continued education is needed to outline the value of restorative justice as a violence prevention strategy.

- Christopher Thomas

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.