Enough is enough

Jun 05, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – Violence in our schools has reached a point where society can no longer afford to look the other way. Every few weeks, another video surfaces showing students kicking, punching, slapping, dragging, or attacking one another while their schoolmates watch.

The scenes are shocking, embarrassing, and deeply troubling. More importantly, they are a warning that a serious problem is getting worse.

Let us be clear. Violence in schools is not a new phenomenon. School fights have existed for generations. Children have always argued, disagreed, and sometimes fought.

What is new, however, is the degree of violence now being displayed and the increasing involvement of female students in these incidents. This is perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of the problem.

There was a time when a school fight consisted of a few punches before teachers, prefects, or fellow students intervened. Today, many of the incidents resemble street brawls. Students are being beaten while lying on the ground. Hair is being pulled out. Kicks are being aimed at heads and faces. Some of the violence appears deliberate and sustained rather than spontaneous. It is difficult to watch and even harder to justify.

Equally alarming is the conduct of the spectators. Instead of stepping in to stop the violence or calling for help, many students simply stand around recording the incidents on their phones. In some cases, they are actually encouraging the fighters and cheering them on. This represents a dramatic shift in social attitudes.

There was a time when schoolchildren instinctively rallied against wrongdoing. Older Guyanese can recall occasions when thieves or “choke-and-robbers” committed crimes near schools at dismissal time. If the criminals attempted to escape, schoolchildren would give chase, and no matter where or how fast the robbers ran, the children were behind them and would eventually point them out and assist law enforcement by identifying where they had run or hidden.

Of course, today’s world is different. With criminals often armed with guns and knives, it would be reckless to encourage children to pursue offenders. But at the very least, one would expect students to discourage violence among their peers rather than celebrate it.

What we are witnessing is not merely a disciplinary problem. It appears to be a breakdown of societal norms. Respect and restraint seem to be weakening. The values that once encouraged young people to prevent harm are increasingly being replaced by a culture in which violence is viewed as entertainment. This trend cannot be allowed to continue.

If left unchecked, school violence will become even more deeply entrenched. In fact, it is already beginning to assume the characteristics of an endemic problem. The danger is that today’s fights may lead to more school gangs. Once organised groups emerge within schools, the situation becomes far more difficult to control. The next stage could involve systematic intimidation of students and eventually violence directed against teachers and school administrators themselves.

That is why the current approach must be revisited.

For too long, there has been a reluctance to impose the most serious sanctions available. The Ministry of Education has often preferred counselling, mediation, warnings, and other corrective measures. While such interventions have their place, they cannot be the only response to serious acts of violence.

There comes a point where actions must have consequences.

The policy of avoiding expulsion or police involvement in many of these cases deserves urgent review. Students who commit serious acts of violence should know that they risk severe penalties. Depending on the gravity of the offence, permanent expulsion must be an option. Likewise, where criminal conduct has clearly occurred, law enforcement should be called in.

Some may argue that involving the police is too harsh. But one suspects that the first widely publicised case of a violent student spending time in a police lockup would send a powerful message throughout the school system. Young people must understand that assault is assault, whether it occurs on a street corner or inside a school compound.

This is not about criminalising children. It is about protecting children.

Many of the incidents that receive public attention involve students attending public schools. However, it would be a mistake to conclude that violence exists only there. Private schools are not immune from the broader social influences affecting young people. Violence may be less visible in some institutions, but no school should assume it is beyond the reach of this growing problem.

The time for half-measures has passed. Schools must remain places of learning, safety, and personal development. If violence is allowed to flourish, those objectives become impossible to achieve.

Society sends children to school to prepare for the future, not to train for combat. The message must therefore be unmistakable: violence in schools will no longer be tolerated, excused, or minimised. It will be met with swift, firm, and meaningful consequences. Anything less is an invitation for the problem to grow.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) 

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• acts of violence, bullying, child abuse, Peeping Tom, school violence

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