Students of New Day Primary and Junior High and Shortwood Practising Junior High schools participate in a peace march in Grants Pen that was organised by the Violence Prevention Alliance in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Environment last Thursday. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

In response to a spate in violence in some Jamaican schools this year, peace advocacy group PALS has called on authorities to implement and enforce standard security policies nationwide.

Speaking with The Gleaner last week, Janilee Abrikian, general manager of Peace And Love in Society, said many of the island's schools were not operating according to documented guidelines, leaving loopholes for confusion and abuse.

"The lack of formal policies in the schools has allowed things to lapse ... Too many schools have policies that are informal and not documented and that works against effective change," she said.

Noting that some schools were afflicted by violence linked to security breaches, because inadequate perimeter fencing made institutions vulnerable to intruders, the school safety lobbyist is urging that policy be drafted to tackle the problem.

"We hear about intruders coming on to the school compound. How could we start to address that? First, we could make sure that the school has a policy regarding intruders. Now to have that policy, somebody has to support it, so it may mean you need to have a guard that you didn't have before.

"It means the whole school community needs to know what the policy is, and that if a student sees somebody that looks like a stranger, that student will report it to the guard or the office," Nicaragua-born Abrikian said.

Screening channels

The PALS general manager also argues that at no time should parents be allowed to go directly to a classroom to speak with a teacher. Appropriate screening channels help guard against confrontations between parents and teachers or school administrators, she said. Her comment comes on the heels of recent reports of a parent allegedly threatening a teacher at Ocho Rios High School earlier last month.

Education Minister Andrew Holness recently urged school administrators to report acts of violence on campuses to the police.

When contacted, the Ministry of Education said that they were currently in the process of drafting a national code of conduct to address school safety.

Dr Charlene Ashley, director of communication in the ministry, said that the document would "include a dress code, speak to the care of public building, display of acceptable behaviour to and from school, behaviour on public transport to and from school, with sanctions to be applied for any kind of deviation. Criminal offences and the responsibility of teachers to report any offences."

She added the document would also address the matter of physical assault on students, teachers or other school employees and call for schools to designate specific off-limit areas for visitors.

Ashley could not say whether the policy would be available by the start of the 2008-09 school year. Public debate on the issue would also be facilitated, The Gleaner learnt.