The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin revealed yesterday that police have increased their presence at Anatol Rodgers High School in the aftermath of a recent stabbing incident that left a student in hospital.

According to police, a 14-year-old boy was stabbed during an argument with another male student on Monday.

The student was taken to the hospital after the incident.

Ms Hanna Martin spoke to reporters about the stabbing yesterday, noting that the incident at the high school signalled some “disturbing circumstances” within the country.

She added: “I think since then they have increased the police complement, because that’s a big school, they have a senior high and a junior high, and they’ve increased the complement to account for the junior high or the senior, whichever one so that there’s full coverage at that school.

“We have to now analyse how is it with all of our efforts that a boy could come on to the campus, if he did, we’re not sure how the knife was obtained, to see how he came with a knife if he did, and if he didn’t, how he was able to access a weapon of that nature, and to be able to do violence to another student.”

She said her ministry is working actively with the Ministry of National Security to review the incident and the additional measures needed to be taken.

“We don’t want to turn the school campus into a military place, because young people need to have some level of natural energy. But what we are seeing is so serious, so serious, that we have to take very strong measures, and we have to send a strong signal. And parents, you know, have to also be vigilant because these children are leaving their homes. That doesn’t mean they’re leaving with weapons. But somewhere along the way those children are ending up on the campus with weapons and we need all hands on deck.”

CCTV cameras were able to record the stabbing incident according to Julian Anderson, deputy director of technology and school management.

He confirmed to reporters that Anatol Rodgers is equipped with CCTV cameras and metal detectors, which allowed for the footage of the incident to be reviewed. He also underscored that several schools, including Anatol Rodgers, have had metal detectors for some time now.

For her part, President of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) Belinda Wilson said teachers were concerned about the stabbing, however, she believes there has been a great effort by the government to strengthen safety on school campuses.

When asked if she was aware of there being CCTV and metal detectors on school campuses following Mr Anderson’s comments, Ms Wilson raised questions on the matter.

Ms Wilson said: “There are some schools that have cameras, we don’t know if they’re working or working properly, and there are handheld devices. But we may have to look at what we’ve been saying to the government for a long time, you may need to have a more sophisticated X-ray machine or detector for students. Because if you have the handheld, and you’re not able to find the weapons that they would have in their bags, or on their person, then you need to take the technology up a notch.”

The BUT president said they support police on school campuses adding that having even more police presence is always important.

“We can only do so much with the police, with security, with the teachers, with the administrators, with the prefects, with the heads of departments. But parents, you have to do your part. You have to do your part. And it’s paramount that you find out what your children are doing,” Ms Wilson added.