Deans of discipline feeling the pressure

President of the Deans of Discipline Association, Samuel Smalling, said that the increased violent activities in schools is of grave concern to his colleagues, some of whom are afraid to work in the current hostility.

"The role of the dean of discipline is a very risky job and it is not for the faint-hearted. Many of the deans are aware of the risks to become a dean of discipline. I know that there is a level of fear because we have had deans of discipline who have been physically attacked by students, by parents, and so it is no joke. But at the same time, we believe that we have a responsibility for the safety and security of all students and staff. We do this job not even thinking about our own safety at times. I've been stoned as a dean before and it is only God's grace and mercy that has kept us in these times," he said. Recently, the country has been rocked by several reports of violent activities in schools, some of which have turned out to be deadly encounters. Smalling noted that during the heights of the pandemic, many students were left unsupervised at home and became vulnerable to criminal influences. He opined that the presence of a dean of discipline is still an important aspect of safety in schools, as the number of incidents would be far greater.

Smalling was speaking on Wednesday at the launch of a new anti-violence campaign in schools at Wolmer's Boys' School in Kingston. He said that more than 60 per cent of students who were questioned in a recent survey said that they have seen an increase in violent activities in their schools since face-to-face learning resumed in March.

"We also asked what are the incidents that are occurring within the schools and I think 41 per cent saw verbal abuse, 29 per cent saw physical abuse and 11 per cent saw sexual abuse," said Smalling. The veteran educator also told THE STAR that there was also an increase in gang-related activities in several schools, including extortion. He noted that there more than 260 active gangs in Jamaica.

"These gangs operate in communities where these schools are, so we are aware that as a result of these gang activities in the communities, it will infiltrate within schools and students based on where they live," he said.

"When we do our random searches, the kinds of weapons that we take off our students, when we do the mediations through restorative justice with parents, bringing in factions together so that we can de-escalate the level of conflicts that have been taking place in our schools, it is frightening in terms of what we are seeing," Smalling added.

During Wednesday's launch of the End Violence In Schools campaign, Education Minister Fayval Williams said that 16,000 students in primary and high schools located in zones of special operations will be targeted for behavioural interventions this month. She also noted that since 2019, there have been more than 500 persons between ages 12-19 who were arrested for category one crimes such as murder, shooting, rape and aggravated assaults.