KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams says her ministry will fast track the implementation of the School-wide Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (SWPBIS) initiative.

This is in response to incidents of violent conflicts among students, particularly at high schools. At least four institutions have reported such occurrences, one fatal, since the start of 2022. 

In the latest incident last Wednesday, a student from Excelsior High School was hospitalised after a stabbing incident at the institution. Two days before, a William Knibb High School student was stabbed to death by another, reportedly over a ‘guard ring’.

READ: Excelsior High student stabbed, hospitalised

READ: William Knibb student fatally stabbed at school

According to Williams, the ministry will be working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to determine the extent to which the SWPBIS initiative can be expanded.

The SWPBIS is tailored to create and sustain safe schools by fostering a disciplined and structured environment to deal with challenges such as student violence. It targets issues like truancy and behaviour modification among adolescents through a data-driven approach and developing pro-social skills.

Noting that the initiative was being piloted in several institutions, Williams said the exercise had been stalled at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic when schools were forced to close.

“We will be reactivating that… [and we] will move it from just being a pilot phase,” she told spectators during a semi-virtual press conference on Friday, adding that some good data was gathered during that pilot phase and will be forwarded to UNICEF.

The minister pointed out that UNICEF has been exploring how to incorporate trauma education in the interventions, and how to help teachers identify students who are from homes where they are subjected to physical punishment.

“What we are seeing playing out at our schools, is the impact of the trauma in the lives of our students and we call on our parents… our caregivers… to really stop corporal punishment in the homes. We are very clear on that message, and we will not resile from that,” she said.

Williams said research undertaken is “very clear” that children subjected to physical punishment are more likely to resort to hitting as a means of resolving conflicts with classmates and other persons.

Furthermore, she said the research indicated that parents who experienced frequent physical punishment during their childhood are more likely to believe it was acceptable.

“We know that discipline and love begin in the home. Now, more than ever, we need our parents to recognise the impact that they have on the psyche of their children and [not] subject them to situations that cause violence to take root,” she said.

The minister further advised that the education ministry will be working with the Ministry of Justice to commence instilling restorative justice concepts in students which focuses on rehabilitating offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.