Dana Morris Dixon urges adults to confront violence influencing student behaviour

Education Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon is calling on adults to accept responsibility for the violence children are exposed to, saying behaviour in homes and communities is helping to fuel safety problems in schools.

Speaking at a safe schools awards ceremony in Manchester on Tuesday, Dr. Morris Dixon said Jamaica’s wider crime challenge remains serious, even as major crimes, including murders, have been trending downward. She said school violence should also be capable of declining if the factors influencing students are addressed.

The ministry pointed to a 2023 school safety and security perception survey involving 9,760 students from 331 schools in communities where zones of special operations have been established. According to the findings, 55 per cent of students identified school as the place where they felt safest, ahead of their homes, communities and the road.

Dr. Morris Dixon warned that videos of fights and other violent incidents involving students risk weakening the progress being made by the ministry, school leaders and local communities. She said the issue is especially troubling because many children already report feeling unsafe outside the school environment.

For the 45 per cent of students who did not feel safe at school, the survey found that their main concern was other students, rather than principals, teachers or the wider community. Bullying reports were highest in all-boys schools at 45.2 per cent, followed by co-educational schools at 42.2 per cent and all-girls schools at 27.8 per cent.

The minister also linked student conduct to problems inside households, saying many children witness domestic abuse and that sexual exploitation by relatives is too often ignored or hidden.

Schools and students were recognised at the Manchester ceremony for taking part in football and cheerleading competitions designed to reduce bullying and other safety concerns. A certification programme is also being used to help schools meet established safety and security standards.

Dr. Morris Dixon and Mr. Troupe said those efforts are being hurt by viral recordings of school fights and other student violence. The survey also showed bullying was 1.2 per cent higher at the primary level than in high schools, which the minister said helped drive the anti-bullying football and cheerleading intervention at primary schools.