Indiscipline and criminal activities at the Linden Foundation Secondary School have reached a crisis state, prompting regional officials and other stakeholders to develop an action plan to immediately address the situation.
According to Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo, indiscipline in schools is widespread throughout the region, but the situation at the Linden Foundation School demands immediate attention. He said it was dubbed as a “crisis” situation and a programme called “Operation Take Back” has been launched to correct it.
Mingo noted that recently while at the Christianburg Magistrates’ Court, he came across several students from the Linden Foundation Secondary School before the court for several violent offences. Within three weeks, this newspaper was told, approximately 15 students appeared before the court; 11 of them were from the Linden Foundation School. All the students were charged with indictable offences, including wounding and malicious wounding, assault causing actual bodily harm, felonious wounding and break and enter and larceny. Two 16-year-olds, who pleaded guilty to break and enter and felonious wounding charges, are currently on remand. They are to return to court soon for probation reports and sentencing. Magistrate Ann McLennan, who presided over the case, found the situation appalling and admonished probation officers to engage the school’s head teacher.
Mingo recently convened a special meeting of officials from the Region 10 Department of Education, the Regional Democratic Cou-ncil’s Education Committee, the Guyana Teachers’ Union and Schools’ Welfare Officers, Probation and Family Welfare Officers, among others, to address the situation at the school. At the meeting, it was noted that several factors were responsible for the high level of indiscipline and criminal activities in the school and while they have been engaging the attention of the school’s administration, its efforts have been failing.
It was noted that the lack of parental support and involvement, absenteeism on the part of teachers and a weak Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) are key contributing factors to the situation at the school. According to Chairman of the School’s Board Wilfred Featherstone, the school has a population of approximately 900 students and approximately 80 students are defaulters. “It is eighty too many,” Mingo said.
Featherstone noted that while parental support is lacking, teachers, who are duly paid to do a job, have also been defaulting. He noted that since the board became operable in July 2010, 38 letters were issued to teachers for lateness. Among the teachers cited was one who sits as a board member. The board was also said to be weak and Featherstone said that on a scale of one to 10, the board would be rated at two.
The most recent PTA meeting saw the attendance of two parents and no teacher.
It was also noted that the school’s administration is divided and all sections do not cooperate with each other. General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union Coretta McDonald pledged the union’s support in the operation. She said that teachers accepted the positions they are in and as such must do the job they are paid for. She added that it is important that the Regional Department and the union work together, if they are to effectively address the situation. It was noted that for some time efforts to convene a union meeting with teachers proved futile.
Meanwhile, several recommendations have been made to drive the recovery operation and an emergency meeting with the PTA is scheduled for Thursday. It is to be followed by a meeting with the student population on Friday, which will be followed by a meeting with teachers. The meetings will be attended by regional officials and key stakeholders.
One of the recommendations made is for the administration to look into the general environment in which both students and teachers function. Other recommendations for the operation include holding current affair sessions at PTA meetings, instituting home visits by welfare officers, initiating health talks and celebrating successes.
