Primary school student Mishael Henry is calling for the immediate implementation of boot camps to deal with the escalating problem of bullying and violence in schools.
Henry, 11, a student of the Laventille Government Primary School, was one of three boys who bravely spoke about this issue plaguing schools as he addressed yesterday’s Joint Select Committee meeting in Parliament.
“Send them to boot camp; real boot camp, not any petty boot camp, serious, serious boot camp.
“I know parents who will object to you hitting their children, but you can also show them photos of what happens to people who go down that road to be a bully,” Henry said.
The issue of boot camps was previously raised by National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and other stakeholders as a manner to deal with the escalating issue of gang violence.
Yesterday, Henry said victims of school bullying are so deeply physically and mentally traumatised that when they become adults thoughts of suicide or wanting to take matters into their own hands would cross their minds.
“The bully attacks the children physically and mentally. They would beat them up and tell them things, make them to think bad of themselves. These things will remain in their minds...they might want to commit suicide or even murder,” Henry said.
He said what was also needed was a strong police and army presence in troubled schools so that when bullies see a “big, strong person,” they would be afraid to hurt other children.
“The bully would feel how the prey feels. You have to think out of the box; bring in the police and army into the school, so the bully will feel what the prey feels,” Henry, who wants to go to Queen’s Royal College, said.
He said while the public is often told to call the police or social services to deal with bullying, these interventions do not always work.
“They tell you when children are being bullied that you should call police or Child Services or Crime Stoppers, but coming to think of it that is not really working.
“Over the years that has been in place nothing has stopped. The bullying is still taking place and it has spread. It is like smoking weed, it is something that you can’t help it anymore; it is just there. The bullying spreads,” he said.
“If I am a child who is being bullied and afraid to tell my parents, the bully will say he is not telling his parents—let’s continue and go on to another child and it keeps spreading until the discipline drops.”
Yesterday’s sitting marked the first time primary and secondary school students had addressed the Parliament, and featured troubling accounts of bullying, which takes place from as young as Standard One.
The committee, headed by Independent Senator Dr Dhanayshar Mahabir, also heard that Carenage Boys’ Government Primary, in particular, had a high level of indiscipline mainly attributed to poor parenting, which included parents showing little or no interest in school activities or attending meetings.
Principal Lance Mottley said what was also troubling was the issue of children “disrespecting” other children’s parents via the hurling of insults. It was also apparent, he said, that some pupils of that school had no fear of the police.
“The children see the police officers as one of us...the teachers, and they tell the police whatever they want, so much so that some of the children have been put out from the school’s police youth club,” Mottley said.
He said suspension seemed to add to the problem, as suspended students often had nowhere to go as parents were working. Saying that an indisciplined child was also a non-performer, Mottley recommended that suspension centres be made available. Guidance officers, he added, only visited the school only once or twice a term.
Mahabir, who expressed surprise by this, said this was not what the committee was told when members of the Education Ministry previously appeared before them. Carel Lewis, principal of Laventille Boys’ Government Primary, echoed Mottley’s sentiments that violence was a real concern, but noted it was complex in nature.
He said there were a number of strategies his school had implemented, including being involved in sports and police youth camps which resulted in some success.
Even grandparents, the committee heard, had no time to visit the school as they were busy seeking employment.
“We have children having children, so grandparents now have no time with what was happening at school,” one principal said.
Public Utilities Minister Ancil Antoine said using retired soldiers in troubled schools should be explored.
Cyber bullying taxing, worrying
The majority of issues faced by secondary school students are verbal bullying which resulted in fights and using social media to degrade a student’s character by spreading rumours.
Danielle Seunarine, a Form Six student of Naparima Girls’ High School, said yesterday that while physical confrontation was almost non-existent in that school, cyber bullying was prevalent among the lower forms.
“Our battlefield has moved from the actual school ground to the cyber world where it is the main form of violence that is ongoing, so instances are ‘flaming’, online degradation of one’s character.
“In particular among the lower students, Forms One to Three, there is prominent name-calling and heckling,” Seunarine added.
McKiyah Joseph, of the Russel Latapy High School, said so bold were the bullies, they would push their hands into the pockets of other students to collect their “taxes” or money demand. Joseph said if a particular student had no money, bullies would search bookbags to steal items, including pencils and calculators.
Taxing was also a worrying issue at the Chaguanas South Secondary School and at Presentation College. Some older students would often seek out younger and more vulnerable students for tax money to buy items at the cafeteria or money to travel home, Tarick Boodoo, of Presentation College, said.
Parents being allowed time off from their jobs to attend school meetings still posed a challenge, the committee heard. On the effectiveness of suspensions, students agreed that was more seen as a “mini vacation” and an opportunity to earn “stripes” rather than a form of punishment.
They said upon returning to school some of the suspended students also sought to take revenge upon the students who had complained about them, resulting in not all incidents being reported due to fear.
High suspension rate at Barataria South Secondary
In a population of 830 to 850 students, an average of 100 students are suspended monthly for indiscipline at the Barataria South Secondary. This took place over the last three years, said principal Sharlene Hicks-Raeburn, who described the school as very high risk.
“Sometimes it seems very difficult to pin the student population down as we have a number of dropout students,” Hicks-Raeburn said. Romeeda Ali, acting principal of the Chaguanas South Secondary School, who also said her school was high risk, said that was particularly so as the school was located in a troubled community.
Gary Ribeiro, principal of Presentation College, Chaguanas, meanwhile said over the last six years the school had suspended nine students. However, he admitted there was some bullying taking place in the school and also expressed concern over the apparent rise in cyber bullying.