By Earyel Bowleg

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

TACKLING gang activity is part of the discussion as schools prepare for the new year, according to Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) president Belinda Wilson.

Mrs Wilson said: “One major element is the gathering of intelligence with a focus on gang activity, an intervention team, as we bear in mind that the school is a microcosm of the community.”

Union officers have met the Ministry of Education’s director of security and his team to discuss plans, and say a meeting with senior education officials is now necessary to see the written plan and budget.

She said: “The draft protocol highlights the need for hiring more security officers and increasing numbers of the security officers in our schools. There is a need for equipment such as scanners, metal detectors, cell phones and even drones.”

The BUT president called the meeting with the security “fruitful”, but said the union recognised that successful implementation of new recommendations requires funding.

She said: “Transportation is vital, so vehicles are needed. Improve communication between stakeholders, such as the administrators, the teachers, custodial staff, security officers and the school resource officers, which represent the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”

She added that her union along with the Bahamas Public Service Union and the Bahamas National Alliance Trade Union Congress are prepared to partner with the security division to ensure that officers are familiarised with union agreements, especially over union access and safety.

Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin previously announced a new student identification card system designed to restrict school access for the upcoming school year.

Visitors, including parents, will be escorted to designated areas. She also confirmed metal detectors are already in use, and a former assistant superintendent of police is leading a revamp of national school security.

“We expect September to see a... stronger security presence for anyone who enters that campus,” she said.

Mrs Wilson said the BUT has not been consulted or briefed by the minister or education officials on the implementation of new initiatives, such as student ID cards, despite public announcements about them.

She added the union and teachers are unclear about their roles and which of the more than 160 institutions will implement the IDs first.

She said: “I am urging Minister Glenys Hanna Martin and her team to meet with the Bahamas Union of Teachers forthwith to discuss this very important proposed initiative for safety in the schools throughout the Bahamas, not limited to the implementation of biometric ID cards for students.

“As we’ve already met with the security officers, and now a meeting with the hierarchy is warranted because we want to see the plan, a written plan, an action plan, and we want to see where the funds are budgeted for the implementation of this new proposed security access protocol for schools and the implementation of the biometric ID cards.”