Control your kids | No tolerance from ministry
“We are not going to tolerate students fighting in town particularly in their school uniform.” — Walwyn
While noting a zero-tolerance for student indiscipline, Minister for Education Myron Walwyn has called on parents to intervene in curbing the current display of unruliness among their children.
Walwyn’s call follows the latest fight among Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) students outside the RiteWay supermarket in Pasea Estate on Monday (March 19). A video of the fight is currently circulating on social media.
“We have been having some disturbance by students. I know many persons listening to me now perhaps have seen a video going around with students fighting today,” Walwyn said on NDP Radio last evening.
“That matter needs to come to an end very quickly. It is very troubling to me”.
“I want to take this opportunity now to say to parents to speak to your children about their conduct after school … It is a very difficult time now in the country and if we could have had school for the full day, it would have been done by now,” he continued.
Students will be disciplined
Walwyn then made it clear that the students involved in the Monday’s public brawl, or any other fight thereafter, will be punished.
“We are not going to tolerate students fighting in town particularly in their school uniform,” he said.
“We are going to treat it exactly the same way as if you were fighting on the school compound, and whatever disciplinary actions are necessary they will be taken.”
He added that ESHS principal, Sandy Underhill has his full support when it comes to disciplining students.
The school has been garnering an increasingly bad reputation in relation to student indiscipline and public rowdiness.
Both the business operators and the residents have been expressing concern over these incidents.
Management at the Tortola Pier Park recently banned minors from entering the park if they are not accompanied by an adult. The park later rescinded the ban.
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Sounds good but he says one thing for public consumption then goes behind the scenes and does a next …. Not good.
Dude can’t even handle his responsibilities…he has the prisoners up Balsam Ghut living the good life and enjoying access to social media through cell phones and posting pure bullcrap online and updating whatsapp every day. SMH
why not prisoners have acess to media? a prisoner should be condemned without basic facilities? if one has to be punished for every little crime committed, all of u no exemption] should have served prison sentences some who are big shots should have been hanged yet some others banished. but humanity comes first. and forgiveness comes first except for violent crime all others should be treated as petty .
The children following the ndp. The ndp fighting so they doing it to.
The Minister is right but — is no good example neither. However parents do have a responsibility to train their child.
Why did you have to get personal? Do you know of the minister not doing his best with …? Why do we have to always go to this level? Keep politics out of everything man!
I agree don’t throw stones when you don’t know how the minister has raised his kids – I would suggest he’s done his v best and that’s all we as parents can do….
You cannot control what you are not willing to confront Walwyn et al….
perfectly said!!!
Maybe if they are called children instead of kids(baby goat)they would act the way they should.
If you read the article you would see that the minister never used the word “kids”. The news site did that. Read!!
Those girls have no p—-e in themselves.
They need handling immediately. Suspend dem backside. This is pure nonsense. Its sickening to see these school children in uniform fighting and loitering on the streets, around businesses and the Noel Lloyd Park with their rude behaviour. Don’t they have a home to go to after their sessions?!?! Sh*t man! Then everybody want to kick when they get banned from going certain places.
How about control uself n u government n principal. hope Mummy n daddy do not vote for none a u.
Minister with all due respect, i think you have been the one stopping kids from being expelled and punished so the chickens are coming home to roost now. We follow the Americans with their BS and now we pet up the kids then surprised when they act like hooligans.
What evidence do you have the minister has been preventing suspensions and expulsions? From the education Act, the school principals can suspend students and the chief education officer has the power to expel. Stop talking things that you don’t know to get cheap points.
It’s public knowledge, cut the PR BS!
@foolish.. if you can’t make a meaningful contribution to a problem I suggest you just help us pray for our kids if you do pray. You have yet again taken the issue in a direction that doesn’t help to solve the issue. It is ridiculous to attempt to blame the minister if children are fighting. This is very silly. I guess we should blame the policy for all criminal activity in the country then.
I will solve with with some hard kick and fists in their little rude a**es! We play with these kids too much and pretend to be surprised by their actions. They don’t give a f–k because we don’t give a f–k. They better steer clear of me and mine which is all I will say.
Look who the minister using as his mentors?
The trouble is when you reward mediocrity and poor work ethic this often is what you get… However I do agree with the minister on this occasion the parents should be more involved and engaged in shaping their children’s behaviour unless they step up and stop passing the buck to teachers this will continue to happen…
Shut it! Anyway we know who you are!F—–g R—-t
No need to be rude and offensive , maybe that’s why these kids have lost their moral compass due to the example people like you set – articulate your response and debate don’t just be ignorant and fly off the handle – calm down and reason – just because you don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean you explode verbally – maybe that’s what happened in the fight reported – you seriously need to step up and be a better example
Not having school back in full session gives kids too much time with not much to do. Are there after school community projects for them to interact with? Create much needed structure and less problems will happen. Many factors are always at play, however we are also in a unique situation right now.
This happened after school, so how are you going to discipline a child if it didn’t happen on campus….
So as an adult working for an organization, when employees behave unprofessionally and reprimanded off the clock, are you telling me that most organizations turn blind eye? Some companies also discipline their employees either by suspension without pay or termination. That employee represents the company on or off the clock. Same goes for the students of any school. Teach them from early, because this behavior can continue in their professional career.
I’m not condoning the behavior nor the fight, but I applaud the young children taking it old school fist fight rather than guns.
I graduated in 1997, so not sure why a bit uproar about control the kids, when there were fights in the schools back in the 90s. Social Media has made this more extreme than it is.
Now why is the Minister commenting on a matter than happen after school hours – is it because they were still in uniform? If any of these kids were mine, the Ministry can’t interfere in any disciplinary action because it happened after school hours – uniform or not.
The public is only seeing what happens on campus every week on a full day of school. When we reflect that humans are not born polite and disciplined and require systems and consequences to produce the right behaviour things will improve. Step number one is recognition that the High School is not the Social Welfare department that has the mandate to dig deeper into student personal problems. Teachers must be respected by Administration and students and must be free to teach. Education should not be a right, all citizens should have the “opportunity” as a right. If you are coming to school disrupting class, disrespecting teachers and making no effort you should have to forfeit that opportunity.Due to the size of the BVI population the success of students at ESHS is too critical for a few disturbed children to run the school. Get them the help they need at another institution and nurture a school where children who want to learn meet teachers who want to teach. It is impossible without discipline and discipline is impossible without consequences.
Be real – well said, discipline is crucial…
Discipline at every level will bring the necessary change. I share your views.
Now we see why people coming to BVI to work to improve themselves, were asked to go back to their own country to have their children. That did no go down well and denied the law and had them here. That is the problem today. Cost of living is high and the parents have to work several jobs to survive. Who raise the children?Now we having the social problem in the society. Everyone has to pitch in and help. If we do not this territory will become like anywhere else with crime and unrest. Natures Little Secert. Will be no more.
I see the problem right here. A good cross section of the blogs seem to be straying away from the issue. Schools are a reflection of the community. Parents and the community have a responsibility to instill discipline in their children. This is not the responsibility of the school, the government or the minister. To fix a problem we have to get to the root of it. Trying to get cheap
Political points by blaming the government or the ministry is total nonsense.