Weekly incidents of violence plaguing education sector - Williams

By Halshane Burke    

 

Education Minister Fayval Williams says Jamaica's education sector is reeling from the effects of incidents of violence every week.

 

Minister Williams, in decrying the incidents, said the country is too small to be contending with the incidents.

 

Mrs. Williams said school violence disrupts learning in the institutions and also has a negative effect on the community. 

 

"When we look at the data from our critical incident reports - that schools are required to submit within 24 hours of the critical incident - for the period January 2022 to January 2023, a total of 55 critical incident reports were submitted through the regional offices to the Safety and Security in Schools Unit at the Central Ministry. It is instructive to note that the 55 critical incidents occurred at 50 different schools - 15 primary and 35 high schools. Five of the schools had two critical incidents each," she reported. 

 

The Education Minister said the incidents ranged from physical altercation to sexual assault. 

 

"From gang violence, to physical assault, to robbery, to break-ins at the school, to school bus accidents, to alleged sexual grooming, to drowning, to vandalism, to stabbing, to attempted abduction, to brawls, to physical altercations, to a fire, and alleged sexual assault. Given that there are 190 school days in the school year, 55 critical incidents at our schools equate to a critical incident happening somewhere in the education sector every three and a half school days," Mrs. Williams lamented. 

 

She was speaking Wednesday in the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.