Education Minister Renews Call for Non-Violent Approach to Conflict Resolution

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, has renewed the call for Jamaicans to use non-violent ways to resolve conflicts.

She also urges parents and guardians to teach their children to settle conflicts without resorting to violence.

Mrs. Williams reiterated the call in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (April 23) while conveying sympathies and condolences to the parents of 15-year-old Irwin High School Student, Raniel Plummer, who was fatally stabbed last week.

“It is devastating for the family, the school community and Jamaica as a whole. When a child kills another child, it should cause us to look within ourselves as parents, as a community, as an education sector and as a society.

“Yes, there may be factors that contribute to the belief among some children that the answer to their frustration in human interaction is to lash out with violence, because they perceive the other child to be the source of their anger and suffering. Teaching children appropriate ways to communicate and behave begin very early, even before school attendance,” she said.

The Minister emphasised that children must be taught early by parents and other adults to follow rules and structure their lives for positive achievement.

“They must be taught non-violent ways of solving conflict,” she said, citing several programmes in schools that promote conflict resolution.

These include restorative justice practices, the parenting programme, guidance counselling, and the technical and vocational education programme to facilitate hands-on training and skills acquisition.

“We regret the loss of the son, a student, a child of Jamaica, and pray that our children will not normalise this egregious and callous act,” Mrs. Williams stated.

She reiterated that the Education Philosophy for Jamaica has been finalised.

It reads:

“Under God, the Jamaican educational philosophy embraces diverse learning capacities and styles, aiming to nurture each learner’s full potential. We provide a comprehensive education, blending academic and vocational pursuits with values-based teachings and life skills. Our focus is on fostering community harmony, appreciating our cultural heritage, promoting inclusivity, environmental stewardship, and respect for all. It regards highly competent and responsive educators who exemplify decorum and national values. Through this approach, we aim to cultivate learners’ understanding of themselves, respect for humanity and love for country, as embodied in our National Vision, Anthem, and Pledge.”

The Philosophy is one of the recommendations of the Jamaica Education Transformation Commission Report, also known as the Orlando Patterson Report.

The recommendations of the Report will be addressed over an eight-year period, spanning 2023 to 2031, and will impact the early-childhood to tertiary levels, guided by seven pillars of change: Governance and Accountability; Early Childhood Education; Teaching, Curriculum and Teacher Training; Tertiary Education; TVET; Infrastructure and Technology, and Financing of Education.

Minister Williams said these recommendations have been broken down into short, medium and long-term targets.

She added that the Ministry has commenced executing work on 101 recommendations.

The first is to establish an Implementation Oversight Committee.

The  Education Transformation Oversight Committee (ETOC) is in place and monitors the implementation of these recommendations.

To date, the Ministry has provided three quarterly updates to the wider ETOC, which in turn has convened three press conferences to update the nation on the work being done regarding the education system’s transformation.