Education Minister Andrew Holness says his ministry has endorsed the position that teachers have a right to search students to ensure that they are not carrying weapons.

"We are going to be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the police where the police will be assisting you in searching your school and your students. It cannot be that weapons such as knives, guns and other forms of offensive weapons are allowed to easily enter our school campuses without any form of consequences," minister Holness said in his address at the 44th Annual Conference for the Jamaica Teachers' Association.

The conference, which concluded on August 20 at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann, was held under the theme, 'Building a Culture of Learning in Schools: Enabling Independent, Enthusiastic and Successful Learners'.

"Let me use this medium to warn parents and to warn students who are inclined to take weapons to schools that if you are caught you will not be treated as a student," Holness said and encouraged parents to check their children before sending them off to school.

The school, he said, was not a war zone, hence the possession of weapons in schools would not be tolerated.

"The teaching and learning environment is under threat. It adds to the frustration of our teachers and makes education a futile endeavour and what we intend to do is take back our schools from criminals and criminals-to-be," he stressed.

He also encouraged principals to take charge of their schools as they have the authority to ensure a safe and secure environment.

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