Outdated education code

Alarm bells are going off all over the island at the increase in incidents of violence in the schools. Students are suffering serious injuries and even losing their lives at the hands of other students. Teachers are feeling threatened by students' behaviour and principals are legally left with limited options as to how to deal with students whose antisocial behaviour threatens the well-being of the school.

Schools' functions are governed by The Education Regulation, 1980 which is part of The Education Act. This regulation, hereafter called 'the code', is 31 years old. It is outmoded and does not address many of the realities being faced in the classrooms of Jamaica in the 21st century. For instance, although the code states that "a student shall obey the rules of the school he is attending", the code indicates that "a principal may suspend a student for a period not exceeding 10 days" if his or her behaviour has a detrimental effect on the discipline of the school. Now this, in itself, may sound satisfactory. The problem lies in the fact that at the point where a student has to be suspended and referred to the board of management, the course of action outlined by the code becomes impracticable.

Within the period of 10 days or less, depending on the length of the suspension, the board of management is expected to call a meeting of its voluntary members; review the case presented, and then determine if the matter warrants being investigated by an appointed personnel committee of the board; the personnel committee is required to carry out investigation in the case; having investigated the matter, then they conduct a hearing into the matter; having conducted a hearing at which students and parents are to attend, they then take the findings back to the board of management, which determines further course of action. The course of action provided by the code is:

30.3.a. Reinstate the student with or without reprimand or a warning to the student, and where appropriate, to his parent or guardian;

b. Suspend the student for a further period not exceeding five school days beyond the period of suspension already given; or

c. Instruct the principal to exclude permanently the student from attending that institution and shall inform the minister of such action.

This procedure outlined in the code has resulted in a number of students whose behaviour is detrimental to the school still being kept in the institution. It is very difficult for the procedure that has been outlined above to be completed in 10 days or less. These 10 days include weekends. During this time, documentation must be prepared by the principal to be presented to the board; board members have to be contacted and a meeting held; investigation must take place, which includes interviewing students and teachers; documentation of such interviews must be done. In addition, a second board meeting must be called to determine the outcome for the student. Keep in mind the fact that board members are persons with full-time jobs elsewhere. It sometimes becomes very difficult to get a board together at a moment's notice. This system needs to change.

Additional constraints

Added to this onerous system is the fact that the police will not take students into custody unless they have been seen doing an injurious act, or with a weapon in their possession. If students or teachers report that a student has been acting suspiciously, or a principal has reason to believe that a student's behaviour is of such that it will cause injury to another student or students, the police will not take such a student into custody to investigate the matter. The police, when called, will talk to the student. The police are constrained by the fact that the student is underage.

The Jamaican reality is that many violent acts are being committed by underage students, particularly male students. The present code was created for a school scenario where students were assumed to be involved in largely mischievous teenage pranks which sometimes got out of hand. This is no longer our reality in the schools. In many schools in Jamaica, both teachers and students are living in fear and operating under a great level of stress caused by students whose presence in the schools is having a negative impact on the teaching-learning process and on the well-being of the majority of students. In some schools, teachers have become so afraid for their safety that they simply ignore the students whose behaviour is out of control.

For many years, principals have been advocating that the Ministry of Education set up time-out centres for students with persistent antisocial behaviour. This would allow for students who are identified with such conduct to be referred to these centres. They would be placed there for a period of time within which they would be interacting with psychologists, social workers and other persons trained to modify antisocial behaviour.

These students, having satisfied the team that their conduct has been adjusted, would then be readmitted into the normal school system. The present system, in which overwhelmed guidance counsellors are expected to solve the level of dysfunctionality of students, is impractical. Calls to change this crisis have been unheeded.

The present system cannot work. The schools are repositories for what our society produces. There are increasing reports of irresponsible parental behaviour, students who are suicidal, mental disorders being exhibited, violent and aggressive behaviour being displayed from a very young age, and age-inappropriate sexual conduct, among other things.

Teachers have, by and large, been trained to teach an academic curriculum. Teachers are not police officers. Principals are not lawyers, nor are they trained as psychologists. These competencies seem to be what are now required in the Jamaican classroom. The resources to deal with the present realities in the Jamaican classroom are lacking. The society needs to pressure the Government to provide the schools with the resources, human, physical and otherwise, to deal with this crisis.

Esther Tyson is principal of Ardenne High School. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.