Ocho Rios High School teachers conduct a sit-in at the school in St Ann, yesterday, to protest a recent attack by a student and guardian against a teacher on the school compound. - Roger Robinson/Freelance Photographer

The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) says it is fed up with a recent spate of attacks against its members and that it will not tolerate ongoing incidents of violence against educators within schools.

Ena Barclay, president of the JTA, reacting to a protest by teachers yesterday at the Ocho Rios High School against recent incidents of violence, however, told The Gleaner she would not "agree or disagree" with the sit-in.

"The teachers are bringing their plight to the public," Barclay said.

Classes suspended

Classes at the school had been suspended for a second day since Friday. The teaching staff walked off the job and reported that, within the past three months they had been subject to a series of both verbal and physical attacks by students and their relatives.

The latest incident occurred last Thursday when the father and uncle of a student, who was reprimanded by a teacher, invaded the school armed with a knife. The principal, Monica McIntyre, and a teacher were subsequently threatened.

"This situation they [teachers] will not tolerate. People invade school compoundsand abuse teachers as they see fit," Barclay complained. "So, we have had enough."

The JTA president said parents and relatives must understand that there ar measurers of dealing with conflict.

Minister of Education Andrew Holness said that, while the Government was implementing policy guidelines to address incidents of violence in institutions, school invasions must be treated as a law enforcement issue.

"Too often incidents go unreported and are dealt with internally in the school family," Holness lamented. "Principals must understand that this trend must be broken and, where a criminal offence, where an assault or threat occurs, it must be reported immediately to the police and the ministry."

Policy guideline

Ocho Rios High School students congregate during school time as teachers conduct a sit-in at the school yesterday to protest a recent attack by a student and guardian against a teacher on the school compound. - Roger Robinson/Freelance Photographer

Holness said violence in schools was indeed one of the ministry's most pressing problems and a policy guideline with procedures that govern entrance and exit from compounds must be followed.

He said that, in short order, policy guidelines would be disseminated throughout the school system. The implementation of these guidelines, however, will take some time as there are approximately 1,000 institutions in the public school system.

The minister said he sympathised with the teachers at the institution.

"It is unfortunate that students are deprived of education contact time with the teachers, but I sympathise with the teachers," he said.

Holness is to receive a detailed report on the situation at the St Ann-based institution today.

The National Parent Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) condemned the sit-in by educators at Ocho Rios High.

NPTAJ President Sylvester Anderson said that, despite a series of attacks on teachers at the institution, the education of the students was of foremost importance.

"We cannot condone the action of teachers when they walk off the job as in the case of this sit-in that they are having," Anderson said. "While we sympathise with your cause, the important thing in our opinion is to have the children attended to."

Anderson said the incidents were unfortunate and called for further investigations.

Student action review

An emergency meeting of the parent teachers association of the Ocho Rios High School is scheduled to take place at the school this afternoon. Members of the school's board will soon be holding a meeting to review the action of the student involved in last Thursday's incident.

The assault on educators at Ocho Rios High comes a month after a male teacher was reportedly attacked by a group of nine persons at the Garlogie Primary and Junior High in Manchester.

It is also alleged that the teacher was chopped in that incident.

Holness said arrests have been made and warrants issued for those identified to have been involved in the attack at Garlogie.

"The Ministry of Education will be following those cases (in St Ann and Manchester) closely and we hope to make an example out of those parents who would want to invade and harm our teachers," the minister said.