Penny asks Kamla: What's your plan for errant pupils?

OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles challenged Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to state specific measures to both reduce school violence and help youngsters to develop, addressing a briefing at her office in Port of Spain on June 9.

While Beckles supported the discipline plus rehabilitation of errant pupils, she questioned the UNC's degree of empathy.

On June 5, the PM lamented cases of school violence, speaking after reports of three pupils beating up a girl at South East Port of Spain Secondary School.

Persad-Bissessar said, “Going forward we will treat every occurrence of assault or beating as an expellable offence in schools and an arrestable offence to be put before the courts.

“If they can’t train them to properly behave in school, then let them stay home and fight.” She urged schools to violence to the police, and said pupils egging it on must be suspended.

Beckles, however, said the PM seemed unaware that cases of school violence were already reported to the police. She said school violence has been a crisis for the past 40 years.

"It is clear that violent students must either be rehabilitated or removed from the school system."

She said under former education minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly from 2022-2025, improvements were seen in school violence.

"The multi-pronged approach was a work in progress and was focused on schools with the highest levels of violence.

"Where rehabilitation efforts failed or where infractions committed were too serious, of course we know very well that students faced expulsion."

Beckles said via a partnership with the ministry, Servol had absorbed expelled pupils or those at risk of expulsion, so they had a chance at reform in a fresh environment.

She said the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service had helped, even as youth camps were being renovated. Milat and Mypart were expanded, she said, and would be open to girls.

"Now notwithstanding the seriousness of this matter, we are of the view that – with no mention of the UNC's plan for youth, no empathy, no deep consideration – the Honourable Prime Minister (Persad-Bissessar) has recommended expulsion and jail." Beckles said even if a pupil is expelled, the government has resources to fund his/her rehabilitation.

She claimed Persad-Bissessar said "some form of jail or expulsion" awaited not just perpetrators of school violence, but those who observed or incited it.

"So, the question we are putting to this government is what is your plan for reducing school violence? What is your plan for youth development?"

She urged Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath and Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Phillip Watts to speak publicly on the matter.

Earlier in a Facebook post, Gadsby-Dolly claimed the PM had brought nothing new to the conversation on school violence. She said Persad-Bissessar has simply repeated long-standing disciplinary measures which Gadsby-Dolly had reiterated in a memo dated June 7, 2022, from then chief education officer Dr Peter Smith to all school principals and school supervisors.

"The memo served to remind principals about the provisions of the National School Code of Conduct, which already included provisions for expulsion and reporting incidents to the police service." She listed many measures that she as line minister had promoted in 2022-2025.

These served to identify schools with the most violence; assign school social workers, guidance counsellors and community police; promote volunteer mentorship programme, scouts and girl guides; assign restorative justice practice facilitators and peer counselling; offer pupils more engaging actives; use expulsion warnings; and work with organisations like Milat, Mypart and Servol.

Gadsby-Dolly said, "What were the results? In 2023-2024 academic year there were 1,116 fights and assaults in term one, 786 in term two and 713 in term three.

"Over 50 per cent reduction in suspensions at some of the 11 schools where the restorative practices initiative was being implemented."