NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) President Belinda Wilson yesterday applauded the government’s decision to put police officers on public school campus after a student at A.F. Adderley was stabbed and hospitalised.
In a voice note to teachers, Wilson said the move will provide another layer of protection to ensure students and teachers are safe on school campuses.
She noted however that police will not take the place of the disciplinarians on the school, but will work closely with teachers, administrators and guidance counselors.
“We are saddened by the stabbing incident of yet again another male student you student,” Wilson said.
“We are pleased on the other hand that police officers will be and some were dispatched to schools in New Providence to assist with safety.”
On Wednesday, police advise a male student at A.F. Adderley Junior High School was stabbed on the school’s campus and had to be hospitalised.
Police said two other male students were taken into custody and are assisting with the investigation.
While addressing the stabbing in Parliament, Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe said police intelligence indicated that the students taken into custody were believed to be affiliated with a gang and the stabbing was gang-related.
The minister said he and executives of the RBPF were minded to place police officers in schools, insisting there was a need for urgency.
The BUT Presented insisted yesterday that the union has been calling for years for the government to reimplement the school policing program, where there was previously a school policing policy, school policing manual, and school policing committee in place.
She said teachers on A.F. Adderley are also preparing a document for the school’s administration and the Ministry of Education to highlight concerns and give recommendations on the way forward for safety on the school’s campus.
“We need rehabilitation and counselling for the alleged perpetrators,” Wilson said.
She added that she reached out to Munroe, the ministry’s permanent secretary, and the commissioner of police and await a comprehensive plan to ensure everything is being done to keep schools throughout The Bahamas safe.
“The intelligence in my view that the police will gather not only within the school campus but also in the community could prove very beneficial in the prevention of crimes and violence on school campuses or even in the proximity of schools,” Wilson said.
No regrets
Last month, a viral video of an 8th grader at A.F. Adderley being surrounded and beaten repeatedly by several other school girls had started making its way around social media.
In the aftermath of the incident, Litira Fox, the mother of the young girl said she was afraid to send her 13-year-old back to the school due to the violence.
She said while the incident was just a fight “it could have been a murder”, insisting that when got the call she didn’t know if she would find her child dead or alive.
In an interview with Eyewitness News yesterday, Fox said the stabbing of the young boy was an unfortunate situation.
“Some of these problems start from the home and when some [people] would say It was only a fight but these things, look at where it could go; children can actually lose their life,” she said.
Fox’s daughter has not returned to the classroom as yet.
She said she still fears placing her back into that environment with no change the situation, adding “the support from the school is heartbreaking”.
“I would hope there was some effort that was taken into looking into these things but personally…for parents, we need more than just hearing this is what we should, could, or would do, we should be able to see those things happening”.
