The Jamaica Teachers’ Association conducted school tours with focus on the western end of the island and observed that there is ongoing construction activities whilst school is in session. This has raised and continues to raise significant concerns for the safety and security of students and teachers on campuses that have major construction activities.
“I am inclined to think some improvements have been attended to on these campuses as the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth & Information has by now dispatched its Safety and Security Education Officers as well as Building Officers to conduct their own observations. As a result, recommendations to contractors as well as measures to hold them accountable should be the order of the day”, said JTA President, La Sonja Harrison.
She added: “In addition to that matter, at least two other safety concerns were brought to the Association’s attention last week. The first being that of an unfortunate break in at the Bickersteth Primary in St. James. This is quite unfortunate overall but especially at the start of the new academic year. Many resources purchased to take the school into the first term have been stolen leaving a void and deficit, with a major setback for the progress of students, teachers and parents.”
She informed that the setback is further compounded by the loss of valuable teaching and learning time resulting from the closure of the campus to facilitate investigations by the relevant authorities. “Jamaica, this situation is simply untenable and demands urgent attention and decisive action”.
“Even more grave was the incident at Seaward Primary, where an armed assailant breached the school’s perimeter fence and confronted a teacher in the presence of her students. The teacher, who is now undoubtedly traumatized, was robbed of her laptop, cellular phone, purse, and other personal belongings, while her students were forced to witness this deeply distressing ordeal. This occurred at the very start of the new school year, a period when our teachers and students should be focused on teaching, learning, and rebuilding a sense of normalcy. Thankfully, no lives were lost. However, we cannot overlook the serious personal and
financial burden this incident has placed on the teacher. Like many educators, she is already expected to meet significant professional demands on the salary of a classroom teacher. The loss of essential personal and professional belongings therefore represents a substantial hardship. This raises a critical question of who will assume responsibility for replacing the valuables that were lost while this teacher was carrying out her duties in the service of our children”, the JTA President reminded.
She informed that, “Teachers should not be expected to bear the personal and financial consequences of inadequate security in the very schools where they are entrusted to educate and protect our nation’s children”.
These matters she stated, ‘only bring to mind elements of our current claim before the government of Jamaica seeking additional security of School Resource Officers as well as CCTV cameras in our schools. Items to which the government through the Ministry of Finance & the Public Service has responded to say, they are unable to support outside of the existing budgetary allocation’. The safety of our children and those who serve them in our schools must be of national priority! Our schools must be safe zones, the JTA Boss urged.
The JTA continues to ask Jamaica; how much is too much to be expended on education and when will we have the national conversation about crafting an educational framework crafted by Jamaican Teachers for Jamaican children underpinned by Judeo-Christian Principles? Equally important to that framework is determining the cost to fund the citizen and the same framework and to produce strategies to source as well as to sustainably fund it.
The call remains: Reformation Now!