Georgetown : The recent spate of criminal acts being committed within or in the proximity of schools is being regarded as a “broader societal problem,” according to Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam. In fact, he revealed recently that addressing this challenge could very well see the Ministry of Education seeking to engage the Police Force on a wider scale for support which could extend to regular patrols or the implementation of other mechanisms.
“I think we need the support of the police to see what kinds of support can be put in place…we need them to assist us to deal with these kinds of issues.”
Sam’s proposal was made following concerns raised by a teacher during a recent Guyana Teachers’ Union South Georgetown branch meeting at the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School. According to the teacher who operates at the East Ruimveldt Multilateral School, not only are students being preyed on but there is evidence to suggest that these acts are committed through individuals’ collaboration with persons within the school. “Students are constantly being robbed of cell phones…persons in the vicinity are robbed at gun point there has been enough suspicion that individuals s are working in collaboration to rob these people…How would somebody just walk up to you and say ‘give me you blackberry’? How would they know what you have?”
The teacher alluded to the importance of heightened security at schools even as he pointed out that “when things are happening the guards run! Our schools must be protected; the lives of teachers and students must be protected,” he insisted.
But according to the Education CEO, “I don’t think there is anything that we can do in the short-term with regards to security in our schools given what we know of the security (guards)… we can’t expect more from them if they are being confronted with people who are armed…”
In pointing out that this development is nothing short of a very troubling situation, Sam noted that while the Ministry may not be in a position to immediately bolster security at all schools, measures could be put in place at schools that are frequently faced with such challenges. “If we have a school that is consistently being plagued with these issues that is something that we need to address with more urgency…to put something specific in place for such a school we can do that,” he noted.
However, the East Ruimveldt School teacher’s concern was not limited to the need for improved security but also extended to the move by the Ministry to halt a Social Work programme which was being offered to teachers. He revealed that the teachers at school he is tasked with teaching is very much in need of this programme as “we have a terrible discipline problem at my school and I am suggesting that the Ministry reconsider the Social Work programme.”
Sam however pointed out that while there is a place for Social Workers in the Schools Welfare Department, there is no way that the Ministry would reconsider burdening teachers with both the responsibility of teaching and social work. “That wouldn’t be fair to them.”
Moreover, he noted that the Ministry has doors open for suitably qualified teachers within the system to opt to direct their focus to the area of welfare. “We have teachers in the system who already have Social Work degrees and they can go after positions in our Schools Welfare Unit, if they so desire…they can fill these positions without losing their years of service and the benefits that they would be entitled to, the CEO assured. Such a move, he added, will certainly not affect the moving teacher’s pay grade pointing out that “the pay will not be any less than you currently take home.”
