We hope that with the new academic year scheduled to open in a few days’ time, school administrators will heed the education ministry’s reminder to not lock students out for breaches of uniform and grooming standards.

The nudge came from parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, Senator Marlon Morgan, in an address at the Region 4 Principals’ Leadership Conference and Appreciation Luncheon 2026 last Thursday.

Said Mr Morgan: “I just want to remind each school leader of the Government’s directive: If a child presents at school, presents for instruction, and is in some way in violation of a school rule — for example, the grooming standards or the uniform — do not have the student locked out of the school.”

“The direction from the ministry is for the child to be admitted and appropriate punishment or remedy administered within the context of the school,” Senator Morgan said.

“We have an obligation to attend to and cater to the well-being of our children, and we do not want them to come into harm’s way or be susceptible to the vagaries of the elements outside of the school gate,” he added.

“If they are in violation of the school rules in terms of uniform or whatever, ensure that you admit them. Whether you are going to place them in a particular space, whatever the arrangement or situation is, administer the discipline within the confines and context of the school,” he said.

The reminder, as we said, is most timely, given that we have been down this road too often in the past as there are some school administrators who fail to acknowledge that leaving children on the street unsupervised is dangerous.

In November 2019 we used this space to ask school leaders to consider the ‘what if’ question before locking out children. We hold that it is most appropriate to repeat what we said at the time:

“What if something goes wrong? What if a child hanging around outside the locked school gate is hit by a passing motor vehicle? What if a child returning home after being locked out is abducted or lured away by unscrupulous, ruthless, evil people?”

At the time we made the point that “not only does Jamaican law insist on the care and protection of children, the country is signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”.

We also highlighted the fact that “school isn’t only a place for learning. For those in the vulnerable, growing up years, school is home away from home. It’s a place that should be totally committed to the care and protection of children.

“Indeed, for many Jamaican children, home and its environs are so broken and dysfunctional that school becomes the only place where positive values are learnt.

“Those positives, including gaining an education, won’t be had if children are blocked from school.”

We reiterate that if schools find themselves unable to cope with indiscipline, help should be requested from the responsible authorities, including the education ministry, childcare agencies, police, et al.

In recent times, the country has been promised that a National Student Dress and Grooming Policy will be rolled out. Indeed, at the Jamaica Teachers’ Association 62nd annual conference in Trelawny two weeks ago, Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon said this new policy will require schools to have written grooming standards, clearly outline sanctions for breaches, apply rules consistently, and ensure parents are fully informed. We await that policy and hope that, while parents and students must accept they have a responsibility to observe rules, the act of school administrators leaving children on the street to fend for themselves cannot be an option.

It is way past time to put this matter to rest.