JTA president wants urgent nat’l meeting on violence in schools

Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver is calling for an urgent national meeting involving key education stakeholders to confront the growing problem of violence in schools, following Monday’s fatal stabbing of a Seaforth High School student.

Malabver said the incident, which claimed the life of 13-year-old Kaland Doyle, highlights the urgent need for a coordinated national response involving the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, school administrators, teachers, parents and law enforcement to address what he described as a worsening pattern of school-based violence.

“The reality is that we have been here far too often. There have been a number of tragic incidents of this nature that have been replicated across the island.

“I think it’s high time now that we are not selectively outraged when these matters, when these situations or events occur, but we treat with these incidents in our own way to mitigate them from happening in the future,” he said.

The JTA head said Jamaica cannot continue to respond to such tragedies in isolation, arguing that repeated incidents point to systemic gaps that require sustained intervention rather than short-term reaction.

“There needs to be a national dialogue on this sort of situation; bring all stakeholders to the table, the parents, the teachers, the Ministry of Education, the police, and to look at what is happening, what are the best practices, what is working, what’s not working, and treat with it,” he said.

The JTA president made the call while speaking in the aftermath of the Seaforth High tragedy, which has left students, teachers and the wider community in mourning.

Malabver visited Seafort High on Tuesday, offering comforting words and support to the staff and students, who are also mourning the loss of a teacher.

He was joined in the response effort by Yashika Blackwood-Grant, acting regional director for the education ministry in Region 2, who said a full psychosocial support team has been deployed to the school.

Blackwood-Grant said counsellors, social workers and education officers were brought in from across neighbouring institutions to support both students and staff.

“We have had sessions with all the classes on the morning shift. We have met with the teachers. In fact, we are currently having a session for the teachers now, where they are being given an opportunity to debrief, to explain how they feel, and to process those feelings,” she said.

She noted that the school was already dealing with emotional strain following the sudden death of a teacher just last week, adding that the double blow has compounded the grief across the institution.

“This school has been going through a difficult time. So to have this incident this week, it has really compounded their grief,” she said.

Blackwood-Grant said the immediate focus remains trauma support, with ongoing counselling sessions and monitoring of students and staff who may be struggling to cope.

“When an incident like this occurs, it does not only affect those directly involved. It affects every student and stakeholder,” she said.

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She added that while formal classes were suspended for the day, students were engaged in structured group and individual counselling sessions before being dismissed early.

Preliminary reports suggest that the incident stemmed from a wider community dispute involving the students, which had previously been identified by the school administration and partially managed through disciplinary intervention.

Blackwood-Grant confirmed that two students from the institution are currently in police custody as investigations continue.

Malabver, meanwhile, said the situation underscores the urgent need for a national reset in how school violence is addressed.

“I have been at pains to say that violence in schools has been around for a while now, and it’s getting worse,” he said, urging that stakeholders move beyond repeated expressions of outrage to sustained action.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com