Teachers and students fearful about school safety

By Kimone Witter 

   

President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association, Leighton Johnson, says the shooting which unfolded at Ocho Rios High School in St. Ann on Monday is the unfortunate reality that some schools are having to grapple with.

 

It was reported that a 14-year-old male student was playing with a gun in a classroom about 12:45, when it went off hitting a female student in the leg.

 

The police are probing how the boy came to be in possession of the weapon.

 

Speaking Tuesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, Mr. Johnson said it cannot be denied that some students are disruptive and instill fear in educators and their peers.

 

He said the JTA's call for a revamping of programmes geared towards safety and security is not happening fast enough. 

 

"We know that no learning or teaching can take place in an environment that is threatening and one that is not comfortable. If teachers are afraid to do their duties and the students are in an environment where they do not feel safe, then it is going to impact on our outcomes and our results and unfortunately many of our schools in our country experience this kind of environment," he lamented.  

 

Mr. Johnson said, while students are developing and will make poor decisions, Monday's incident could have had a fatal outcome. 

 

"So yes, there are students who process differently and of course you will say that their brains are not necessarily developed. But they know right from wrong. Students understand rules. They do understand rules and they do understand consequences. So at this point, I believe it is not an excuse for us to indicate that this was just in poor judgement. If that child had died, the conversation would have been different. The conversation would have been different. So therefore we need to get to the place where we understand again that students must know and they must be taught consequences of their actions."

 

He said Ocho Rios High School has hand-held metal detectors and students are subjected to random searches. 

 

Stewart Jacobs, President of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica, said it cannot be business as usual in the education sector for the next academic year.

 

Mr. Jacobs said urgent intervention is needed, starting over the summer holiday. 

 

"We cannot go into September with this fear. The school is supposed to be a place of solace, a place of comfort that would encourage the education process, the learning process. That is not happening because the children are also scared, the teachers are scared and apprehensive and ancillary workers are on edge. The entire system is on edge because the gangs are migrated into the schools and youngsters are getting braver and more brave to take into a school a weapon such as a gun, to show it off that it is then triggered and fired. It means that there is a total breakdown of the safety in schools," he complained.   

 

Mr. Jacobs lamented that incidents of violence and other disruptive behaviour in schools are no longer isolated. 

 

"It's no longer the inner city schools. It is happening throughout the country, in rural areas as well as urban areas. What is also interesting is the age group that it is happening in. This would be like a third former, it's a child still thinking, the learning process is still happening. But he is still smart enough, still have critical thinking enough to have carried the gun in the school and showed it off. There has to be a total revamping of what is considered security in schools," he demanded. 

 

Mr. Jacobs has challenged political parties to take up the message of safety in schools while campaigning for the upcoming election.

 

He was also a guest on the Morning Agenda.