Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Constable Mark Chin of the Grants Pen police explaining the new Safe Schools initiative to students of the New Day Primary and Junior High School in Grants Pen, St Andrew, in September 2004. - file

The Ministry of Education is examining the possibility of increasing the contact hours that school resource officers (SROs) have with students.

SROs are law enforcement officers strategically placed, under the Safe Schools Programme, to leash student violence in more than 144 learning institutions.

The police are responsible for mentoring students, mediating in disputes and conducting weapons surveillance, among other things.

Nadine Molloy, president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools, recently expressed concern that the SROs were not spending enough time in schools.

Contact time

"We are looking at the possibility of expanding the contact time of school resource officers," Alphansus Davis, special adviser to Minister of Education Andrew Holness, told The Gleaner recently.

He noted, however, that the manpower shortage in the Jamaica Constabulary Force would mitigate against the feasibility of increased time.

Davis noted that a memorandum of understanding is to be signed between the ministries of National Security and Education. The pact, he said, will include, among other things, the matter of contact hours of SROs. Also, the police are to have regular search of school premises and students where there is reasonable cause.

Meanwhile, Davis said the ministry is to install 100 metal detectors in schools. He noted that a safety and security guideline manual will also be made available.

POSITIVE Parenting

In an effort to curb the level of indiscipline in schools, Davis said the education ministry was in the process of drafting a job description for a dean of discipline.

The position has been a standard feature in some schools, but the ministry intends to launch broad-based implementation. September 2009 is the scheduled start-up date.

The Ministry of Education this year stated that corporal punishment was not the policy of the ministry and should not be administered in schools. To this end, Davis revealed that the ministry is to embark on a public education programme informing educators about alternative forms of discipline.

Code of conduct

Another programme, which is to come on stream this year, is a national code of conduct for students and teachers.

The special adviser said the guidance counselling unit, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund, the University of the West Indies and the Dispute Resolution Foundation, is to embark on a pilot project on creating safe places for learning. He revealed that 30 schools in Kingston, St Andrew and St James have been selected to participate in the programme.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com