Community activist Pastor Clive Dottin is advocating for more social services interventions to help deal with students who display deviant behaviour.
A guest on today’s edition of CNC3’s The Morning Brew show, Pastor Dottin agreed that such students should be held legally responsible for their actions. He also maintains that parents also should be held to account for their children's behaviour.
His comments come after five female students were charged in connection with the assault of a student of Holy Faith Convent in Couva.
According to Pastor Dottin, while the Education Ministry provides some social support services, the need for these have increased tremendously over the years.
“Look at the issue strengthening the Student Support Services [Unit],” he advises the new education minister. “When that started, you might have had 5,000 children being suspended. Now, you have 21,000 children being suspended and I don’t see any structure anywhere to deal with that number of people effectively."
Recently, a group of female students of the South-East Port-of-Spain Secondary School was suspended after brutally attacking another student. However, no criminal charges have been laid against them.
Following that incident, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said students caught assaulting other students, teachers and principals will be expelled, and students caught in videos cheering and egging on the violence will be suspended.
The PM also urged all principals, teachers and students to make reports to the police.