There has been an encouraging improvement in students’ behaviour at Tutorial High School following the intervention by guidance and counselling officers earlier this year, according to a report from the Schools Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education.
And generally teachers have been able to have better control of their charges, a press release from the ministry stated.
According to the department, reported cases of violent offences dropped from 13 in January to nine in February and to three in March. These incidents included fights, assaults and damage to property with fights accounting for 19 of the 25 reported offences.
During the second term, this figure was reduced to 21 cases of which nine were fights and an equal number were assaults.
Meanwhile, guidance and counselling officers were also placed at St. Winifride’s and Lodge Secondary Schools where they played a vital role in making these schools more youth friendly, the report stated.
Students who were once known as truants and had their names placed on special registers to keep track of their attendance benefited from self-esteem building sessions that assisted them in their self-development.
Moreover, parents were consulted and in some cases assistance was given to them in the form of capacity building in the area of conflict management, decision making and making wise choices among alternatives, as well as assertive techniques, among others, the Welfare Department noted.
The release noted that officers benefited from numerous in-house workshops and seminars in the areas of Guidance and Counselling, Health and Family Life Education and Mentoring.
“The training gave teachers and welfare officers an opportunity which was necessary for them too, so that they be knowledgeable and skillful to handle in a more professional way the difficulties and challenges that hinder academic growth and professional advancement, and stifle student-teacher and teacher-parent relationship,” the Welfare Department said.
And approaching the end of last term, there was a marked change in all of the targeted schools with no reported case of violence.
The Ministry of Education in September will be placing more guidance and counselling officers in the school system to fortify its efforts to ensure that schools remain in an atmosphere conducive to learning.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh had earlier this year announced a 10-point plan to promote safe, acceptable behaviours and positive values in school.
These measures included strengthening the security systems in schools; searching of students at some schools; the re-launching of a national mentoring programme that will be extended to all schools; and the introduction of child-friendly schools in Region Two.
This programme will be extended to 30 more schools from September. There will be a focus on the introduction of the Health and Family Life Education programme in more schools; training of teachers to respond to crisis situations; strengthening of the human resource capacity of the Schools Welfare Department; and the resuscitation and strengthening of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in schools, as parents have an important role to play in imparting values of discipline and proper conduct to their children, the release concluded.
