- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 07/Sep 10:10

Education Secretary: No Tobago schools in policing initiative

TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Secretary of Education, Research and Technology Zorisha Hackett says no Tobago school, so far, has been included in the government’s school-oriented policing initiative. On September 4, Minister of Education Dr Michael Dowlath told the post-cabinet news conference that the government planned to introduce police officers at some 50 secondary schools, in the first instance, to address the growing incidence of student violence and indiscipline. But he said the police officers would not be armed with guns but non-lethal weapons to ensure the safety and security of the students. Dowlath said apart from the 50 schools, deemed as high-risk, ten other secondary schools and ten primary schools also will have dedicated police patrols to ensure a timely response to incidents within and outside of school premises. He added the initiative was a collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Homeland Security. Although during the post-cabinet media conference on September 4, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander said the officers would not be armed, Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath, on September 5, clarified that some officers would have guns. “As we indicated yesterday, officers will be in their full kits. Some of their kits will have lethal and some will have non-lethal weapons depending on the police assessment of the risk of the school and the environment,” he said during the recognition ceremony granting government-assisted status to Longdenville Sathya Sai Primary School on September 5. On September 6, Hackett told Newsday that Tobago was not included in the initial 50 schools. “As it relates to the police in schools, the 50 schools the minister has already assigned police to, none are Tobago schools,” she said. Hackett said the division is expected to meet with Dowlath again on September 11 to discuss if there may be such a need. She added the meeting will include schools’ supervisors “and we are going to be guided by the Chief Secretary (Farley Augustine).” Hackett admitted, though, that the division has already placed additional MTS support at two schools which have been under its radar for some time. “They are going to begin from Monday (September 8) and we await further decisions. National Security is not under the purview of the Tobago House of Assembly and so we will have to be guided by the Minister of Homeland Security and the Minister of Education so they can assign when we make the decision as to whether or not we want to take it in that direction. But for now, none of the 50 assignments are in our Tobago schools.” TT Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) Tobago officer Bradon Roberts said while the school policing initiative can be a deterrent, it can still give rise to confrontation. Roberts told Newsday on September 6, “The initiative on its own may be another danger that we are adding to the schools because there are other things that we would need to have because we do not want putting more adults to have confrontations with children because that is where the mindset of many of our children are.” He said students who are prone to confrontation are not fearful of authority. “What we want is that our children not have that tendency to go along those lines.” Roberts said the children who are not performing well academically are finding other means to display their frustration. “So we really need to address the level of illiteracy in our schools, starting with our primary schools, and have a more positive approach to discipline than the punishment and putting more persons to create a fear factor.” Meanwhile, the first cohort of 95 special reserve police officers trained under the school-oriented initiative graduated on September 5 during a ceremony at the Police Academy, St James. A statement from the Police Service, posted on its Facebook page, alluded to the feature address, which was delivered by Natasha George, DCP, Administration and Operational Support. It quoted George as telling the graduates that they were pioneers and entrusted with the country’s most valuable resource – children. She said that for far too long, school violence and anti-social behaviour were having a negative impact on the education sector. George said this was going to change. “Today, we are taking decisive steps to change this narrative and the initial deployment of 95 specially trained SRP officers, strengthened by 25 community policing officers trained as field, confirms our commitment to restoring schools as safe, disciplined and supportive spaces of growth,” she was quoted as saying. The 95 officers, the statement said, underwent specialised training at the academy, designed to prepare them to effectively support schools in maintaining safe, disciplined and nurturing environments. It added the initiative forms part of the Police Service’s continued commitment to enhancing community policing strategies and ensuring safe and supportive spaces for children. “It represents a significant step in strengthening the partnership between law enforcement and the education sector and equips the officers with the tools, competence and knowledge necessary to engage effectively with teachers, students and communities while upholding safety, promoting trust and supporting positive youth development,” the statement further said. Among the areas covered in the course were: fundamentals of child and adolescent development; children justice procedures; alternative dispute resolution; the role and function of the police in a school environment; and community policing within schools. The statement said the officers are expected to be assigned to 50 yet to be identified as high-risk schools across the country to combat instances of school violence. The post Education Secretary: No Tobago schools in policing initiative appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.