The Minister told reporters recently that secondary school teachers were trained last October on positive behaviour management as the ministry seeks to reimagine the way it approaches the conduct of students.

“Secondary schools were charged with developing a positive behaviour management plan for their campuses and implementation of these plans should begin this term,” deCastro said.

Mandatory ID cards

She explained that in order to support this and other initiatives, the ministry has re-instituted the mandatory use of identification cards for students at the secondary level. 

“Elmore Stoutt High School students and teachers now have ID cards that will be used for identification purposes, and to take attendance,” minister deCastro stated. “All secondary schools and teachers will eventually also have these cards.” 

Minister deCastro further noted that the update on schools’ discipline policy is being worked on by the government in addition to other government policy revisions.

Discipline among high school students has been a serious concern for years, with fights becoming a commonplace occurrence, both on and off campus in the past.

That concern reportedly prompted the construction of the now-controversial wall around the perimeter of the school.

With students at all levels of the school now back at the ESHS Lower Estate campus for all-day learning at the same time, it remains to be seen whether the new regime will prove to be an effective deterrent to poor behaviour.