Damion Crawford, opposition spokesperson for education, says the biggest problem now being faced by the society, is that there is no safe space for students, and there should be no cost too expensive for the Government to spend on protecting Jamaica’s children.

Crawford was addressing the issue of violence in schools during a press conference on Monday (November 14) when he made the claim.

“There is no place that can be perceived safe by the majority of our children in this country. Their communities are not safe, their homes are not safe, and the only retreat or refuge they had, which is in their school, is currently being perceived as unsafe,” said Crawford.

He further noted that research done on Jamaican schools found that 70 per cent of students perceive the security measures provided on each school campus as inadequate.

Students also described security guards within their schools as ‘watchmen’, said Crawford, and in the opinion of some of these students, the guards are not prepared to deal with the violence in schools.

“I remember when our parents use to say ‘come home before dark’, because dark was the time of criminal activity. There is no time of criminal activity now.”

He also made note of a recent incident that took place Infront of Alpha Primary, where a father carrying his child to school was attacked by gunmen. Incidents like these can result in high levels of depression within Jamaican children, he noted.

He added that these violent acts in schools can severely increase the stress level of parents.

“When a school calls a parent’s cellphone, the parent is afraid to answer that call because it might be a report of injury or death. So the parent has stress because of violence in school.”

No cost too expensive

To solve the issue, the opposition has recommended 20 measures that the government can implement that were previously reported on by Our Today.

When asked by journalists how expensive these measures would be, he noted that the measures are inexpensive, but there is no cost too expensive for the protection of children.

“I stand against the position that there is a cost too expensive for the protection of our student. If you ask me ‘what am I willing to give up?’ I am willing to give up an arm or a leg. I’m willing to give up my life, if I can ensure the protection of my child, and the children of this country,” he said.

Crawford also said the Government could use the extra J$40 billion it is now in possession of, due to inflation, to solve the issue of violence in schools.

“What we know is that these are not expensive measures. However, the Government has recently highlighted that they have collected in excess of J$40 billion more, because of the inflationary prices and that impact on GCT,” he noted.

Each member of Parliament was also given J$21 million for garbage collection and drain cleaning, “but there were no refers to school access and school improvement. This was even after a student fell from a school that had dilapidated infrastructure”.

He added that the Government also has a budget of J$800 billion, that can be used to solve the issue and the measures suggested will cost nowhere near $1 billion.

“I know that the political benefit of no new taxes is what has propagated the Government’s continued query of ‘what is the cost?’ But what is the cost of a parent whose child went to school and died before they returned?” he questioned.

Crawford further urged the Government to use the measures recommended it seeks to create a safe space in schools.

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