Stabbing death of student at Edith Dalton James High concerning, says NSSC
ST JAMES, Jamaica — The National Secondary Students Council (NSSC) says last week’s fatal stabbing of a student at the Edith Dalton James High School in St Andrew, was the result of play escalating into a fight, which is concerning.
The NSSC said based on reports from the school, the deceased, Clive Matherson, and another student were playing when one of their watches fell leading to a fight. It intensified and Matherson was stabbed, the NSSC explained in a release today, saying it is “saddened that casual play among friends had escalated into murder”.
The council, which said it visited the institution to provide support recently, noted while it agreed that the school administration should ensure that students are safe within their environment, students are also responsible for their own safety.
“We wish to emphasise that students should not resort to violent actions as there are other peaceful ways of resolving conflicts. Possible measures include reporting the matter to Dean of Discipline, Principal or the assigned School Resource Officer.”
The NSSC recommended that emphasis be placed on sensitising and educating students on anger management and conflict resolution strategies as an alternative to violence.
“Students’ safety should be the priority of every stakeholder in the education system. Further strengthening is recommended for the Safe Schools Programme and the Peace and Love in Society (PALS) initiative, to tackle the issue of in-school-violence,” it added.
The council said it would liaise with the Ministry of National Security through the Ministry of Education Safe Schools unit to strengthen the Safe Schools Initiative, in an effort to combat violence in schools.
“The Safe Schools initiative since 2004 has focused on assisting schools in mitigating the issues of violence, truancy, anti-social behaviour, children at risk and generally to keep students safe. We are asking the public to support this initiative as we seek to ensure peace within our schools,” said the council.
It also encouraged its peers and the wider society to stand against all forms of violence in our schools, as it must be conducive to a healthy learning environment.
