PRINCIPAL of the Edith Dalton James High School, Ray Howell, has lashed out against the sale of badges to students bearing violent images, and said the culture is destroying the fabric of decency in schools.

Howell’s comments came a day after policemen from the St Andrew South Division confiscated badges depicting violence and bearing images of popular dancehall DJ Vybz Kartel from vendors at the Edith Dalton James High, Pembroke Hall Primary and Duhaney Park High schools, all in the Jamaican capital, Kingston.

The sale of the badges, said the school principal, will sow seeds of division among school children.

“We are very concerned about what I call the ‘G culture’ in schools – the gully, Gaza, the gun, ganja, and the graffiti. This is the worst disease that has come into the school system in my 37 years of teaching,” Howell told the Observer Thursday.

He blamed the degrading music offered by some of the current crop of dancehall artistes for the moral decay.

“I think that the artistes are creating a negative impact and everyday I have to walk the school compound to check because of the impact of this on the system. It creates a challenge,” Howell said.

Teachers at the Duhaney Park Primary school were also concerned about the sale of the badges promoting violence to youngsters. “We do not condone this. It is disgusting and can serve no good,” one teacher said.

The sentiment was shared at the Pembroke Hall High School by principal Daniel Morgan.

But while the police were blaming vendors who sell infront of schools for the sale of the badges, the vendors were adamant that they were not involved in that type of business.

“We only sell fruits, sweetie and snacks. We are not involved in that type of thing. We have children going to school too,” said Rosie Johnson, a vendor who sells outside the gates of the Duhaney Park Primary.

Her claim was supported by students and teachers.

“Is not them selling the badges. Is a rastaman who walk with them in a bag and meet the children around the corner. Is not them,” one student said after purchasing sweets.

At the Edith Dalton James High School security was tight and the only vendors around were those authorised to sell inside.

“We are in a privileged location and if we were to do something like that it would jeopardise our privilege. We are not crazy people,” Charmaine White, a vendor at the school, said.

The vendors also blamed a Rastafarian who walked the community after school hours as the culprit who sold the badges.

But head of the St Andrew South Division, Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, said the vendors were speaking half-truths.

“We have information that they buy the badges from a man who goes around and sells them wholesale. There are two sides to every story,” Hewitt said.

In the meantime, Mayor of Kingston Desmond McKenzie said a major initiative would be launched soon to target vendors who sell outside of schools.

McKenzie said previous efforts to remove them were met with resistance from school staff and students.

“Vending infront of schools is illegal but when we try and enforce it we are met with resistance, not only from the students but also from the teaching staff who find some excuse,” McKenzie told the Observer.

He said he would be making an announcement about an initiative to remove vendors from school gates soon.

Meanwhile, DJ Vybz Kartel on Thursday issued a release condemning the sale of the badges to minors.

“We do not own the Gaza name but recognise that unscrupulous and unethical persons may be seeking to profit from the popularity of the Gaza name by engaging in these terrible practices. We urge the relevant authorities to move quickly to protect innocent children from those who would seek to corrupt them,” the release stated.