School violence a plague

A parliamentary committee is querying whether there is a link between violence among school children and teacher punctuality and absenteeism from classrooms. The question is asked in a recent report by the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Social Services on physical and cyber-bullying.

The concerns are revealed in the minutes of the JSC’s private meeting with stakeholders on January 31. Stakeholders such as the NPTA and TTUTA also raised other issues including groping of female teachers by male students which kept the teachers out of classes, the filling of hundreds of vacancies in the country’s education sector and whether students should be allowed to bring cell phones to school.

JSC member Esmond Forde, who is also Deputy Speaker and Tunapuna MP, said, “With regard to attendance and punctuality of the teachers in schools, what role will that play with regard to violence in schools? If it is that we can get some statistics in terms of the attendance and punctuality as we go along? If again there are no teachers present it means that the children could have a field day.”

Endorsing Forde's query was JSC chairman Paul Richards who asked if data showed a link between teacher absenteeism/lateness with school violence. “So, if we can get data on school districts with high instances of violence, (if) it is correlated with high instances of teacher absenteeism we would be able to see maybe there is a solution there,” Richards said.

JSC member Allyson West asked how TUTTA saw its role in addressing absenteeism and tardiness among its members.

TTUTA second vice president Kyrla Robertson said the teacher’s union was continuing to ensure that their members are guided, that their regular attendance and their punctuality at the schools are of importance to the proper functioning of the school and development. She said that TTUTA does admonish teachers at times when they come before the union.

She added, “TUTTA has to teach its members that they must be regular and punctual at the job site because it not only creates problems with the students but with their own colleagues because it adds additional stress and pressure to the teacher(s) who might have found themselves to school on time.”

TTUTA president Lynsley Doodhai said more could be done to curb school violence citing the filling of hundreds of vacant posts among teachers as one of the critical bits of action that needs to be pursued. These vacancies which include middle management posts such as deans remain unfilled despite interviews to fill them since June and July las year.

“So, we would want to zero in on that particular aspect with respect to the filling of vacancies, because that is where some control can be exercised in the school setting with respect to monitoring and supervision of students, to possibly prevent this plague of school violence from taking place,” Doodhai said.

School counsellors unhappy

The TTUTA president had grave concerns that the Ministry of Education’s Student Support Services Division (SSSD) was understaffed.

“We will want to call for a beefing up in terms of the numbers of the Student Support Services Division,” Doodhai said. “Failing that, we believe that training should be given to teachers with respect to restorative justice, because they are the first line persons in contact with the students.”

JSC member Khadijah Ameen underscored the “significant shortage” of guidance counsellors, deans, and others. She said while each guidance counsellor should handle a student population of about 300, they were “significantly overburdened.”

“We had sometimes one person dealing with three and four large secondary schools, populations ranging between 700 and 1500,” she revealed.

Permanent secretary Lenore Baptiste-Simmons said the ratio was to be 250 students to one social worker. With many applicants to be guidance counsellors, she promised to consult the Director of Personnel Administration (DPA.)

Darlene Smith of the SSSD revealed social workers, guidance counsellors and some special education teachers are each on a month-to-month contract. She said the social worker-to-student ratio was now 1:600. Smith said some secondary schools have their own social worker, but most at primary level must roam to serve a cluster of schools.

The roaming officers serve the students of between three to six schools, Smith said. “So it is approximately 1:3 schools or 1:6 schools as I indicated earlier based on the size of the district and the shortfall and staffing in some of our districts. So it varies in number.”

TTUTA’s Kyrla Robinson noted interviews were under way for the SSSD but lamented, “What is not being said is that some of the persons who are now on the month-to-month contracts have had to reapply for their very positions and this creates a sort of discord and discomfort among the members of student support services.”

She complained teachers may perform extra duties such as being deans but without recognition by pay or post or time. More so, the substitute teacher programme (to remedy absent teachers) was ineffective, Robinson complained.

“So in most times and if you look at how our schools are built you cannot get a substitute teacher before lunchtime, especially if your school is in Blanchisseuse or in Toco. I am just calling those at the remote areas, but even right in the main frame areas you are not getting somebody.”

Ban smart phones?

TTUTA thought smart phones had a deleterious effect in school, and the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA) urged students be banned from bringing them to school.

Doodhai said, “The use of these devices has a negative impact on the teaching-learning process and it does in fact disrupt the process. “

Robertson revealed that teachers have collected phones from students only to get into trouble themselves.

“There have been times when teachers have been made liable and have to replace phones for students because students come and complain that something is missing or it is not working and now you may not know because a teacher might just collect a phone that may actually come in dead, but it may be an attempt to get that person to have a new device.”

Robertson did not call for an outright ban but said the problem must be looked into.

NPTA president Raffiena Ali-Boodoosingh said students need not have smart phones but simple phones.

“We have asked our parents, why is it necessary for you to give your child a phone to go to school, especially a very expensive phone with all the features on it?” She said parents said a phone was necessary because of violence and social ills in this society. “We discussed it and we did discuss this with the Minister of Education also. I do not see the necessity of the child using the phone for education purposes in the schools.

“So what we suggested is that we look for a phone that is just able to call. Not all the fancy features and that will diminish the cyber-bullying. A very simple phone.

“It is an added responsibility for the teachers in school to be looking at the students and the use of the phone, and most times they would not use it during class time.”

Some teachers, she said, would not properly monitor students’ use of smart phones, especially at lunch time.

“So we are saying, is it necessary for the children to have these phones in the school? And if it is necessary why not just have a simple phone and the student should also be taught cell phone etiquette.”

Schoolboys grope teachers

NPTA first vice president Clarence Mendoza had concerns about male students groping female teachers who may be provocatively dressed.

“I am hearing of absenteeism and punctuality, but I am really not hearing anything about our teachers on the dress code. I know teachers do not have a dress code and when I say teachers, I am speaking in particular to our female teachers that our boys are now targeting.”

Mendoza said he had visited many secondary schools where older students were targeting female teachers, but this was not publicised.

“Teachers are being touched inappropriately and teachers are leaving the classroom and are now sitting in the staffroom because of that," he added.

The JSC chairman said that issue was up to TTUTA to address.