IT IS time to declare a state of emergency in schools. This call is prompted by the violence which has permeated from the societal ramshackle which spawned it to the highest level of tertiary education, the campus of the University of the West Indies.
We have reported over time the incidents which point to an escalation warranting emergency action. But the correction we call for is not simply the routine policing that clamps down on delinquent students or the misguided parent attacking teachers who dare to impose discipline.
The remedies we suggest should flow from in-depth study of the institutions that have been transformed by the coarsening of values in the society, and the breakdown of the families which should nurture the youngsters in the first place and make it easier to teach them to become useful and productive citizens.
The fact that statistics on crime and violence invariably cite young people as the major perpetrators confirms that the education system is not performing as well as it should. And this is borne out by policy prescriptions which acknowledge the shortcomings but have not kept pace with what is needed.
We venture to suggest that vehicles such as our own Editors' Forum can elicit from students themselves some areas of opportunity to tackle relevant issues. We cite, for example, last week's forum in which a student reacting to the Prime Minister's proposal to place pastors on state boards asked: How about placing a Buddhist or member of another religious group on such boards? A cogent question reflecting youthful potential.
The latest manifestation of the extent to which the schools are endangered was in last Saturday's headline story that gangs have established branches in some St. Catherine schools. It is ominous that the gangs cited are the 'One Order' and 'Clansman' groupings, which are said to be at the heart of the quagmire that has overwhelmed Spanish Town.
We are not surprised that Minister of State, Noel Monteith, has described this development as "frightening". Indeed it is. What is equally disturbing is that after months of operations involving these two notorious gangs, the allegations that they are linked to the two major political parties is still to get unequivocal repudiation from the highest political levels.
The menace of gangs in schools is not only frightening. It must be tackled with more than cameras and metal detectors as the emergency it signals to the nation is large.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
