Security to Be Improved In Schools

Director of Security and Safety at the Ministry of Education, Sergeant Coolridge Minto, says several security and safety measures are being finalized for the education sector, which will be rolled out at the start of the 2014/15 academic year.

Speaking in Montego Bay recently, Sergeant Minto said the measures are geared toward the safety and security of not just students at schools, but members of the academic and ancillary staff.

“Come this September, a number of security measures will be instituted in our schools. We are currently reviewing all the security manuals and there are some new security measures that are going to be introduced, because the safety of the students and everyone at our schools is of paramount importance to the Ministry of Education,” he said.

“We are looking at the matter of firearms in schools…including persons with private firearms and whether they will be allowed to take these weapons on the school compound. We are also looking at a policy as it relates to field trips. We want to ensure that these trips are governed by the Ministry of Education. We are looking at a policy as it relates to uniformed groups operating in our schools,” the Director added.

On the matter of uniformed groups, Sergeant Minto informed that the Ministry is developing a registry of all the uniformed groups that the Ministry endorses to operate in the schools and only the authentic ones will be published.

Sergeant Minto said while the Ministry will always seek to work with the administration of schools, their Boards as well as the Parent-Teacher Association, if the need arises for an executive decision to be taken in the best interest of education, the students and staff, it will be taken.