While fights have always persisted in schools, Edward says, the addition of technology has made the issue worse. The Minister observes students are now recording brawls to make viral on social media instead of trying to stop the violence. This, he stresses, must stop and the Ministry is seeing to that.
“We are not condoning fights whatsoever in schools. I have met with the Chief Education Officer and other stakeholders and we have taken a serious no-tolerance approach to violence at schools,” Edward explained. He implores students to make responsible use of their devices. “We have incorporated technology in schools in a very, very big way with the distribution of smart devices in every single secondary school. But we have always made the point and I always take the opportunity, whether it’s at assembly or through the media, to encourage students to make responsible use of the technology. Something that I find very disturbing is not only the fact that students are fighting, but those who stand by and actually record the fights so that it can be shared on social media.”
The recording of fights has added a new dimension to the situation, the Minister adds. He also expressed his concern that youth currently display a sense of moral degradation. “Those who fight will be dealt with accordingly. But it is totally unacceptable that we are fast becoming a society where young people, instead of trying to diffuse situations, pull out their smart devices and record the fights. And before you know it, we have a spectacle on social media for the consumption of the wider population.”
“Any child, once we have the evidence, they were a bystander recording a fight with the intention of circulating that on social media, [the school] will be extremely hard on these students,” Edward announced.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Hon. Pauline Antoine-Prospere outlined some of the immediate measures taken by the Ministry to allay teachers’ health and safety concerns.
“We had some challenges in the first week at the Bocage Secondary School. There was some infrastructural work going on - it started on the Saturday before the reopening of school. Teachers were complaining of dust on the compound on the first day of school,” Antoine-Prospere said. She also quieted rumours of industrial action from teachers as a result of the dust. “As the week proceeded, teachers complained of illness and we had to advise them to go home. The Ministry of Education is very concerned about the health and safety of teachers and students.”
In his address commemorating the reopening of schools, the Education Minister affirmed the government’s commitment to ensure a positive working environment for teachers and learning environment for students.