Gangs’ formation in schools, President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali has said, is giving him sleepless nights. The problem of gangs in schools has a long history. In the 1980s and 1990s, school gangs became epidemic and today continue to be a concern in schools around the world. In our region, gang affiliation is not something that students leave behind when they arrive at school. Thus, its proliferations in our school systems. While here in Guyana, it may be a small percentage that often engage in intimidation; physical and cyber bullying; fighting, the use of improvised weapons, assault and vandalism, the issue of violence in schools here has multiplied.
In some schools in the USA, metal detectors are common, as sometimes is the presence of a Police patrol on the outskirts. Some may be tempted to ask why this is so in a country that is rich and is the bastion of freedom and democracy. Others may counter that exactly because of what the country represents, it can afford to have such mechanisms in place. The answer basically lies in trying to curb violence in schools.
While the measures may appear to some as extreme, given what unfortunately happened in the past, when lives were senselessly lost to bullets, they may be deemed inadequate. After all, it has not stopped. Other menaces include bullying. These are the harsh realities in some institutions of learning there, with an obvious negative impact on the student population involved.
It is not confined there, and is prevalent in many other places. In Guyana, we have seen a collaboration between the Guyana Police Force and the Education Ministry, where random searches are being conducted at schools for potential weapons. Surprisingly, screwdrivers, knives, scissors and toy guns were found during some of these random searches.
An important aspect of the Education Ministry’s collaboration with the Police is that the partnership involves discussion on topics of violence, crimes committed at schools, gang fighting, offensive weapons, and significantly, consequences.
Who would have thought that in the process of getting an education here in Guyana, safety in schools is becoming a primary concern? With the threats in question, it seems rightfully so.
In Guyana, we have seen several teachers being beaten by parents, and also, in the past, there were several cases wherein students fought their teachers. Over time, there were other reports of students being stabbed by others, or hurt by other means. Bullying, which is just another form of abuse, and even violence, were reported to be highly prevalent in many schools. In several instances, fights among our secondary school students, which went viral on social media, is a good example of violence in schools.
Those represent reported cases, as the understanding is that many cases are unreported out of fear of repercussion.
Many have argued that parents and guardians need to be more involved and aware of what their children are doing, keeping an eye on any possible worrying signs. While that could still be effective in many ways, there is a challenge as the child approaches adulthood. At that stage, one’s space and privacy could present barriers. There are also social factors that contribute to disallowing such necessary intervention to some extent. That further complicates an already-complicated situation.
We agree with President Ali when he said on Wednesday at an event at the University of Guyana, that tackling this serious challenge of formulation of gangs in schools requires confronting it at the early stages in the school system.
In speaking about a way of addressing the challenges now being faced by the school system, the Head of State said: “How do we now develop a training programme for our teachers from the time you enter the secondary level to deal with this? So that now we have a specific training that would address the building of the capacity and capability of our teachers to address this issue and to build an ecosystem to fight back what is already in the society.”
He has since challenged the University of Guyana and the Guyana Defence Force to work with the William J Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies on the issue.
We look forward to seeing the fruits of this collaboration.
