Principal says some students now breadwinners while attending school

 

A high school principal in Manchester says he has had to facilitate students working while attending school since full face-to-face classes resumed in March.

 

Christopher Tyme, Principal at Mile Gully High School, says the economic disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in some students becoming the breadwinners in their families.

 

Speaking with Radio Jamaica News, Mr. Tyme explained that some students were reluctant to return to school because they would no longer earn an income.

 

As a result, the school has reached a compromise with the students. Instead of forcing them to return fully, students who miss classes are helped to catch up on lessons on the days they attend school. 

 

For tests like City and Guilds, Mr Tyme noted that several students were absent from mock exams because they had to work, so the school decided to allow them to sit the exam at a later date. 

 

"Even though they might be working on and off, we don't want them to be totally disengaged. We want them to, at least at the end of the year, [be able to] say, alright I have two, three, four subjects still, and we're going to try and facilitate them because we are aware of the context in which they are living, and if you cut off that income, it could spell detriment for the family," he reasoned.  

 

Mr. Tyme said administrators also have consultation sessions with the students and their parents to impress upon them the importance of education.

 

"They can't work and earn properly if they're not qualified. It might seem as a lot of money now, but as they grow and they take on other responsibilities, they will realise that this means nothing. And so, we at school have to prepare them and that's what we're trying to do, and we are determined to do," the principal maintained. 

 

On Tuesday, Mr. Tyme disclosed that of the 279 students who had not been engaged in classes at Mile Gully High since the closure of schools in March 2020, only eight have not been located.

 

 

Violent conflicts                              

 

Mr. Tyme said he has seen the benefits of using restorative justice to reduce the number of violent conflicts among boys at Mile Gully High.

 

He said the boys are no longer quick to engage in fights. 

 

"We would have brought in an individual who was trained in restorative justice and she would have had sessions with these boys and now these boys are no longer in conflict. These boys, not all of them but a number of them, have become even more focused in school and are doing better."

 

"When these boys get into problem... the first thing that they would normally do is to react violently," the principal recalled, "[but] they are now coming to me and going to the Dean, going to other persons to speak about the problem."

 

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck recently announced that his ministry will be teaching restorative justice in schools amid the spate of violence among students reported recently.