Education Minister Anthony Garcia is planning a series of consultations to address indiscipline and violence among students. In a statement yesterday, he urged education stakeholders to do more to promote a reduction of indiscipline and crime among young people.
“Following a case of young men of school age circulating on the media brandishing firearms, the minister is making the plea that parents, teachers, members of the community and the media all do their parts to reduce the sensationalism of criminal activity,” he said.
Noting that the upbringing of the nation’s young people is everyone’s responsibility, he added: “When we see our children with weapons, engaging in fights or any activity that is unbecoming of the type of citizen that we wish to produce in Trinidad and Tobago, we must remember that these children are but products of their environment and the examples being set by the adults around them.”
Garcia said the Education Ministry will continue to deal with instances of indiscipline and is “committed to working with all parties invested in education to change the current conversation nationally, to be more reflective of the positives that the young people have to offer.”
“It is now critical that we move away from consistently focusing on the viral negativity that has been cultivated among a minority of our nation’s youth and shift focus to the major group of hard working, disciplined and willing young people that are working toward making Trinidad and Tobago a place they want to be in the future,” he said.