MINISTER OF National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, says ensuring safety for schools must be given priority, if Jamaican youth are expected to live and function in a society not plagued by crime.
Dr. Phillips made the observation Wednesday during a speech to the St. Andrew South Crime Prevention and Community Safety Forum at the Church of the Open Bible in St. Andrew.
He said the National Security Ministry has teamed up with the ministries of Education and Health to launch a safe school programme in communities affected by violence. He claimed that, to date, administrators have identified more than 100 schools that suffer from their unstable locations.
"If we don't take advantage of opportunities for education and training our communities will never have a high percentage of employment," said Dr. Phillips.
"There must be a premium on keeping our educational institutions open in all our communities, because without that we have the recipe for the perpetuation of poverty."
UNDER THREAT
Several schools have come under threat from gang warfare in Kingston in recent weeks, particularly in the South St. Andrew constituency, which falls in the Kingston West Police Division.
Dennis Kelly, principal at the Charlie Smith High School closed that institution last week, following an outbreak of violence in Jones Town.
Administrators at nearby Trench Town High School did the same in October, when renewed gang violence erupted in neighbouring Arnett Gardens.
