EDUCATION officials have made it clear that the residential high school for troubled boys scheduled to be opened in Potsdam, St Elizabeth by this September will not be a boot camp.

The government-run facility, the first of its kind in Jamaica, will be located on property bought from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and will be a temporary home-school for 50 troubled teenage boys who will be selected based on referrals from more traditional schools and who will undergo “intense behaviour treatment”.

But yesterday, Alphansus Davis, co-ordinator of the Schools Security and Safety Programme in the education ministry, speaking at the Observer Monday Exchange, insisted that despite the unruly tendencies of the students likely to be sent there, enrolment in the programme is not intended as punishment.

“I hasten to say this will not be a boot camp… they will have specially trained teachers, teachers trained in the behavioural sciences. Even the ancillary staff will be specially trained by the Ministry of Education. We don’t want these young people to be abused,” he told editors and reporters.

In addition, Davis said while the ministry would have to ensure the facility has adequate security for the protection of staff and students, it is not intended to be a prison. Students will be allowed to go home for regular visits and would not be prevented from receiving visitors.

He noted, however, that there would he “heavy screening” of all employees and persons who will have contact with the boys.

He said the intention is to keep the group small, maintaining a 1:10 teacher-student ratio. This is to ensure the boys can be properly managed and maximise treatment through one-on-one contact.

Senior Education Officer in the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the ministry Antoinette Brooks said the initiative was part and parcel of the ministry’s Programme for Alternative Student Support (PASS) under which students displaying severe maladaptive behaviours in schools would undergo behaviour modification.

“What we are saying is that it is our responsibility to do every single thing in our power to help our children. The fact is that they did not start bad, and sometimes, more often than not, it is the experiences they have which have resulted in these types of situations,” she noted.

“What we seek to do is provide intense, targeted intervention for these students. When they come to us and we work with them they have to go back home, so we have to work with the homes as well,” added Brooks. “But we believe that if we are able to get these students to be away from their present situation we could make a greater impact on their lives.”

Brooks said the students, ranging in age from 13 to 18, would be specially referred to the facility by clinicians in the public school system after going through a selection process. However, residence at the new high school is not intended as a permanent solution.

“We won’t be keeping the child forever, we are looking at three months to a year. We don’t expect the child to be (perfect), but we expect to see the change toward (positive) behaviour,” she said, adding that every effort would be made to work with parents to help them nurture their children in a positive environment and handle various challenges.

The Government had originally planned to establish the facility at Diamond Crest Villa in the parish. However, this was aborted following the deadly May 2009 fire at the Armadale Girls’ Home in St Ann which necessitated relocation of the traumatised survivors to that facility.