As primary school students, we were instructed to memorise our national anthem and national pledge and for the remainder of our schooling, those were words we recited on mornings.
I can still remember raising my right hand, straightening my back and saying very loudly, ‘I solemnly pledge to dedicate my life to the service of my God and my country. I will honour my parents, my teachers, leaders and my elders and those in authority’. Those words meant something during those days.
On evenings after school, if we were lingering and walking slowly to find our way home and happened upon some police officers, we bent our heads and walked quickly for fear of being reprimanded for not making our way home quickly enough. Yes, in those days, if a reasonable hour had passed and we were out in our uniform, the police would enquire as to why we were not heading home fast enough.
If, for some reason, we were reprimanded by our teachers, we were too afraid to go home and complain; a reprimand at school meant something was done wrong and once our parents knew, well, we would be reprimanded even more harshly at home.
These past few weeks, I looked at the news in absolute astonishment. The Ministry of Education, in an attempt to address the bullying and violence in high-risk schools, took the decision to introduce an armed police presence. In one particular school, it was reported that a police officer was locked in a classroom for approximately 30 minutes.
The offending student, in his defence, attempted to reason that the police officer was asleep. I was amazed at the brazenness of the child. Clearly, the authority of the police officer (asleep or not) was to be mocked, disregarded or simply ignored.
A few short days later came the video of a young lady in the same school showing complete disregard to both the police and her dean. Flaunting a skirt, which I am certain must be too short to meet school requirements, in a raised voice, she told the officer you cannot speak to me so you’re not my parents, then proceeded to show her complete disrespect with a full attitude unbecoming of any young person.
What one could easily ascertain from these two incidents is that the same level of disrespect and disregard shown to fellow students and administration in high-risk schools, will now be shown to the armed police officers.
The indiscipline in our schools clearly runs deeper than we are able to address. It appears to be stemming directly from parental responsibility, or perhaps a lack of parental responsibility.
Let’s start with a simple form of disregard for rules, the length of school skirts and the fitted pants that can barely rest on waists. As parents, we have the responsibility of purchasing or securing school uniforms. I would believe that students are getting dressed from home and leaving home in the uniforms purchased by parents. So, as parents, are we conspiring with our children to disregard the required dress code, or are we going to pretend the children quickly change uniforms after leaving home?
I have seen school bags on early mornings which are clearly empty or contain one book for good measure. As parents, are we not seeing the empty bags going to school and not questioning where the schoolbooks are that required a good chunk of our salary?
In T&T, the Children’s Act allows for parents to be fined for certain charges levelled against their children. There is also the ability to bring civil action against parents for damages done by their children. It is questionable whether these laws are truly enforced. The United States has the benefit of parental responsibility statutes. These penalties and charges range from state to state.
While the enforceability has been questionable, it has been used to issue charges in several shooting incidents. Australia and the United Kingdom also have the benefit of parental responsibility laws for the purpose of charging parents when their children engage in criminal behaviour. It was believed that this legislation would ensure that parents took their responsibilities seriously.
Countries such as Finland and Norway have fewer incidents of juvenile crime and delinquency. This is not due to parental responsibility legislation, but due to the social support systems which they have available.
These countries place a high commitment to schooling and have found means to effectively manage free time. It may be a simple case of having children involved in other activities which leave little time to land themselves in trouble.
Sadly, we are too far gone to depend solely on education and social activities to stem our problems. We need to find a solution that attempts to restore and from then we can maintain.
It is clear that the Ministry of Education is not on the same page with its stakeholders. Parents/guardians, and particularly those who should be targeted, do not attend meetings, whether it be parent/teacher meetings or meetings with administrative staff.
There is a disconnect between the school administrators, their students and parents/guardians. If the system must work, then we need to have a meeting of minds, what can be done differently. Yes, I would also advocate for parental responsibility laws. There are parents/guardians who refuse to work with the schools, who encourage and then justify poor conduct. In those instances, examples should be set.
Our laws should work for us. Parents/guardians should be fined for certain breaches by their children. As harsh as it may sound, a firm hand has to be taken.
Pavitra Ramharack is head of chambers at Pavitra Ramharack Attorneys at Law and can be reached at ramharack_pavitra@outlook.com
