MEDIA reports last month of two incidents involving male Secondary School students – one a tragedy, that ended in a stabbing death, emanating from an on-going feud; the other, of a young fifth former beaten unconscious and dumped in a trench, must be of grave concern to the entire nation, and has again placed the spotlight on a problem that has held the attention of the relevant sector authorities over the past ten years.
This violence that can be described as intermittent has unfortunately become a part of our national school environment, and can be categorized as follows: Those of the wholly student type, and of the student and teacher altercation nature. This should also take into account the phenomenon of school gangs, also a part of the school landscape.
Though school violence has not been constant, it is never too far from the point of explosion, judging from the reports that have been highlighted in the press, and throughout the years there have been numerous instances in which students have suffered serious injuries, apart from two earlier fatalities.
One does not have to be a sociologist to conclude that such category of violence is a replication of the more extremes of a society, where deadly violence has become the calculated and willful norm of settling even simple issues, and has unfortunately seeped into the general school precincts.
And while there are those from the older generation who will understandably condemn its occurrences among the nation’s students, and expectedly point to its absence in their era, they need to understand that this is a very violent age into which these youngsters have been born and nurtured, are inescapably its unconscious products, with the modern home being one of the two biggest perpetrators in children having their first serious exposure to physical violence.
The voluminous reports received by the Child Care & Protection Agency of the Ministry of Human Services is testimony to the daily inculcation of this and other type of abuses suffered by the young.
It is not certain whether there has ever been any scientific study carried out in terms of ascertaining the root causes of violence among school students in Guyana, though there are numerous reports on similar culture in other climes, available in our local reading houses.
But the Ministry of Education, much to its credit, recognising the imminent threat of this philistine conduct within the school system, introduced a number of initiatives to counter this growing menace: Beginning with the innovative Voluntary Mentoring Programme, introduced in twelve schools across the country, and consisting of the student, mentor and parent/guardian working together for the development of positive morals and values in the student; the Ministry of Education teaming up with ChildLink, formerly Every Child Guyana, for the introduction of the Youth Vision Programme, that supports the work of the school’s Welfare Department, and is designed to create more violence free schools.
Another initiative taken was the introduction of Guidance and Counselling Officers at certain schools that has resulted in a reported decrease of violence and other forms of unacceptable behaviour.
But it must be clearly understood, that the issue of combating violent behaviour among the nation’s school population, must not be the task or responsibility for the Ministry of Education alone.
The reality of the average Guyanese home today reflects a constancy of a dysfunctional environment that is definitely inimical to the normal upbringing of their off-spring.
Children are graphically learning too many dangerous negatives, many times with the conscious approval of parents/guardians.
And since this is where it all begins, parents bear full responsibility for the moral direction of their children’s lives. Many parents, too, need to recognise that it is their role and lifestyle that sets the bar for the future aspiration of their young.
Therefore, the home must lead in the fight against school violence.