By Tahna Weston
Despite the uptick in incidents of school violence among students over the years, Dr E Jonah Greene, the deputy director of education is guaranteeing that public schools across Antigua and Barbuda are safe.
There have been reports in the past of fights on school compounds or in close proximity of the institutions, some involving weapons and during which some students were seriously injured. Many of these incidents have been caught on video footage and shared widely on social media platforms.
“Our schools remain a safe space. And what is happening is we have made many attempts to work with our stakeholders to try to ensure that our various stakeholders do what they have to do to reduce any violence that would have happened,” Dr Greene said.
Speaking about her personal feelings about youth-on-youth violence, of which many seem to stem from gang affiliation, Greene said she is against such acts.
She said students who are goal oriented — -having something to which to look forward — would not likely find themselves involved in deviant and miscreant activities.
“I personally do not condone nor have I ever condoned violence in any format. I have always worked with my students while I was in the classroom.
“And as I continue to work with teachers and school principals and the administration of schools, I personally believe in what I call the culture of hope, in that once we instill hope in our students and hope and violence are on very far ends of the pendulum then our students are in their own optimism, they would behave in an appropriate manner,” the deputy director of education told Observer.
Dr Greene said that the Ministry of Education has been working with teachers to promote positive behaviour management among the student population, in addition to working with respective school administrators to reduce certain behavioral patterns among students over the years.
She noted that promoting positive behaviour among young people at all of the levels within the country’s education system is very vital.
Greene said that the ministry continues to work with several stakeholders in order to prevent or minimise violence in schools, including the schools themselves, the police, [and] its counseling units, to ensure that students are taught what is right.
“We work with the police to improve vigilance-that is after school and during activities. So, we are doing our endeavour best to ensure that we provide a safe learning environment for our students. And we continue to encourage our young people to be tolerant; we continue to encourage our young people to be tolerant; we continue to encourage our young people to work with each other and we continue to promote positive behaviour within our learning environment and within our learning institutions.
“So, personally, I do not condone, in any way, any form of violence — be it verbal, be it physical on any other individual. It is something that the Ministry of Education and myself, we would not condone or accept in any way,” Dr Greene reiterated.
