Teachers and other members of staff at the Signal Hill Secondary School were left traumatised after last Friday’s stabbing incident, where one male student was critically wounded in the abdomen during a fight with another student.
The incident came less than three months after a Form Two student at the school was beaten by approximately 20 students.
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday evening, Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) Tobago officer Bradon Roberts said teachers are uneasy and are now calling for a new tougher approach to tackling school violence on the island.
“Before this fight, several teachers, not only at that school but from other schools, would have expressed fear. Even in Mason Hall Secondary, they (are) walking with scratch bombs. You bring in the police and nothing would have come out of it. There was the fear before but now, the fear is heightened now,” Roberts said.
He said the Division of Education, Research and Technology (DERTech) must place some focus on ensuring teachers have a safe working environment. Roberts added that parents and Government must concede the strategy to curb school violence is no longer effective.
“We took our time to create a handicap. So, we had the children’s rights, where I agree some of the children would have been abused by adults. We create rights to prevent that, and we give children so much leeway, we have the judge’s rule that came out in 2016, of all the things you cannot do with a child, and now we are hoping these children would be responsible on their own.
“Now what do we do when we are now looking to be strict? Do we take away all devices from children. Can we do that? Do we lock up the parents? Then who is going to be the ones providing for their children. Do we create fines so that the parents, who already can’t afford, have to pay fines when their children misbehave? Is it that the children are going to understand that mommy had a fine to pay?” he asked.
He said Tobago teachers are disappointed that their reports of delinquency and school violence are only taken seriously when the matters spin out of control.
In an update yesterday, Division Secretary Zorisha Hackett said the stabbing victim is expected to be discharged from the hospital today.
In a release Hackett said they are working with the School Supervision Unit and police to implement comprehensive measures to ensure the safety and well-being of all students and prevent any further incidents at the school.
Hackett added that they are also working diligently with the School Supervision Unit, MTS and TTPS to conduct thorough investigations. It will also be re-evaluating safety protocols, enhancing surveillance measures and carefully reviewing the school’s layout.
