Respect, appreciation and reconciliation were some of the commitments expressed by a group of students and parents of the Diego Martin North Secondary. These life changing statements were the results of their meeting with a team of the Ministry of Education senior officials led by the Honourable Anthony Garcia, Minister of Education. The meeting held on 15th January, 2020 at the Education Tower is part of the ongoing plans to implement measures to address safety and security concerns at the school.
Minister Garcia, a former teacher and school principal himself, give details to the group about the ongoing intervention at the school, which include the continuous presence of members of a multidisciplinary team comprising officers from School Supervision, Students Support Services (SSS) and Curriculum Planning and Development. However, he explained that any level of intervention will be incomplete without the support and partnership with parents. “Responsible parenting is key in the success of our students. Education starts at home and we are here to reinforce positive values and to support and assist parents as needed, as we work together in moulding the future generations”, said Minister Garcia.
Parents themselves took the opportunity to open-up about their own parenting challenges and request assistance. Their concerns were noted by members of the Student Support Services and further support will be provided in areas such as anger management as they work individually with some of these students.
Simultaneously to the meeting with the group of students and their parents held at the Ministry’s head office, another team of senior officials visited the school and met with teachers, staff members and TTUTA’s representatives. They were also updated on the ongoing plans to improve safety at the school as they welcomed the Ministry’s intervention.
Back on November last year, teachers at the Diego Martin North Secondary School walked off the compound claiming health and safety issues after a rock was thrown at a window in the teachers’ staff-room. Since them, work has commenced to raise the perimeter wall of the school compound and a report from the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA) have been issued stating the action taken by teachers to stay away from work is not justifiable.