TTUTA Tobago slams police in schools policy as: 'Plaster on sores'

TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Tobago officer Bradon Roberts has accused policy makers of putting “plasters on sores” in treating with the issue of student violence and indiscipline.

He was responding to the decision to have police stationed at the Signal Hill and Mason Hall Secondary schools, in Tobago as part of the government’s school-oriented policing initiative to address violence and anti-social behaviour at selected at-risk schools across the country.

In a release on September 15, the THA Division of Education, Research and Technology announced that from September 22, both schools will experience a daily presence of police officers.

The decision, it said, was taken after a meeting which included DCP Junior Benjamin, ACP (Tobago Division) Oswain Subero, Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett, the division’s administrator Ginelle Williams and other senior officials.

The release said ahead of the implementation, sensitisation sessions will be conducted with teachers, parents and students during the course of the week.

It said, “The police presence is intended to provide additional support to principals in addressing student indiscipline through non-lethal and constructive interventions.” It added the arrangement will be closely monitored by the Education Division and the TTPS to ensure its effectiveness.

The discussions, the release said, also considered extending police support to at least nine additional primary and secondary schools.

“Under this arrangement, the identified schools will benefit from closer monitoring and more frequent visits by police officers with the intention of fostering a safe and supportive learning environment.”

The division reaffirmed its commitment to addressing indiscipline in schools through a range of strategies outlined in its policies while ensuring the safety and well-being of all staff and students.

NOT IN AGREEMENT

But in an interview with Newsday on September 16, Roberts questioned the mindset of policy makers.

“We have for years, had a plaster-on-the-sore approach. So we look at the end activities and try to fix those. We don’t try to fix the things that created them,” he said.

Singling out Mason Hall Secondary, Roberts said while he is grateful that an attempt is being made to treat with the violence “so that the children do not kill themselves,” he argued that the underlying issues are not being dealt with.

“The students who attend Mason Hall Secondary School, in the main, are those who attained less than 30 per cent in their SEA. So their level of competency in their academic work is not where it needs to be.

“If SEA is used for the purpose it is used for, where we put persons based on their competency and then arrange programmes to meet their needs, then Mason Hall Secondary will not be a school where they are listing as a ‘hot’ school.”

He continued, “The academic lack in terms of the competency, in terms of the resources, in terms of the programmes at Mason Hall Secondary School is contributing to the violence and indiscipline at the school.

“I am not hearing about programmes. I am not hearing about resources that will help boost the reading, that will help boost the mathematical skills of the students so that they will be able to have some level of satisfaction in their school work.”

Roberts believes the students who are prone to “fighting and gang culture because they are frustrated by the raw content being pushed down their throats that we call education.

“We are asking our Mason Hall students who got under 30 per cent to function just as those students who are attending Scarborough Secondary, Bishops and Signal Hill.”

FIX UNDERLYING ISSUES

He claimed many students are not being reached “because the quality of the content and the approach, void of the relevant resources that will needed, is causing what we are seeing.

“So instead of fixing that issue, we are putting police officers so that they will not kill themselves, the fights would ease.”

Roberts said he will support a policing initiative of this nature if a genuine attempt was made to address the source of the problem.

“But I am not going to openly support changing plasters ever so often. we need to fix the underlying issue.”

He reiterated the education system must be reformed.

“And even if we can’t do a full reform, at least give schools a fighting chance to reach the children who are struggling. We are void of resources. Too many teachers are dipping into pockets to try and make things work and we are not seeing any end to it.”

For now, Roberts said he is adopting a wait-and-see approach to the policing initiative.

“We are already here so we will see how best this thing works. But in terms of image, it may look good but we not really fixing any of the problems that causing the indiscipline and violence in our schools.”

On September 4, Minister of Education Dr Michael Dowlath told the post-cabinet news conference that the government planned to introduce police officers at some 50 secondary schools, in the first instance, to address the growing incidence of student violence and indiscipline.

He said apart from the 50 schools, deemed as high-risk, ten other secondary schools and ten primary schools also will have dedicated police patrols to ensure a timely response to incidents within and outside of school premises.

Dowlath added the initiative was a collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Homeland Security.