By SANDRA SINGH Monday, February 25 2008

click on pic to zoom in

SEX, drug abuse, violence and deviant behaviour in several schools, all perpetrated by the students themselves, have left officials of both the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) and the National Parent Teacher Association (NPTA), expressing disappointment and major concern.

Officials said that schools are rapidly becoming “a reflection” of the violent and dangerous society that is Trinidad and Tobago. They saw a dire need to rehabilitate deviant students before they fall into a permanent life of crime and criminal behaviour.

Last week alone, a secondary school student was stabbed with a pair of scissors by another student in East Trinidad; a Form two student was beaten and stabbed by three others in South Trinidad; five students in Port-of-Spain were arrested after they were found drinking in a bar and marijuana valued at $5,000 was seized, and a Cunupia High school teacher was slapped by a student. Apart from violence and drugs, school officials have expressed concern over reports of a growing pornographic ring in some schools where students create pornographic movies using cellphone cameras and video technology.

Commenting on these issues yesterday, NPTA President Zena Ramatali called for a collective effort of involvement by all, in order to stem the tide of violence. She called on parents to play a more active role in students’ education. Schools she urged, ought to become more “parent friendly” while the police must also play their part and work with the schools. (SEE PAGE 11A)

Ramatali also recommended that guidance counsellors and proper related programmes needed to be put in place at schools, to help students. “Children are full of anger and they must be taught anger management and conflict resolution,” declared Ramatali.

She also encouraged the establishment of “suspension centres”, “where students as well as parents can be taken away from the school environment and be rehabilitated. There should be zero tolerance on school indiscipline, whether on the school compound or on the streets, and students should know this,” said Ramatali.

TTUTA President Roustan Job made similar comments. He said, “TTUTA is very, very concerned about the incidents and the proliferation of attacks on teachers.” The attacks he noted, were highlighted by media rather than through official reports.

He referred to an attack on an Arima Senior Comprehensive school teacher by a student last Friday. He was even more concerned over the fact that many of the incidents were occurring outside of the school compound. “It is a question of community versus schools. What is happening at the schools is symptomatic of what is occurring in society. People have no respect for the rule of law,” said Job.

He added that guidance counsellors and psychologists who formed part of the schools’ Student Support Services needed to be better trained to properly handle the situation. “We suspect that guidance counsellors seem to be overwhelmed by the incidents.”