“I
can assure you that we are going to take all necessary measures to put a stop
to this. The measures that will have to be implemented may be harsh, but it’s
something we cannot compromise, because what is happening today is totally
unacceptable,” Mr. Samuda said.
The
Minister was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the
Ministry, Restaurants of Jamaica (through its Add Hope Feeding Initiative), and
Nutrition Products Limited, at the Mona Heights Primary School in St. Andrew,
on February 20.
Mr.
Samuda said the measures will be discussed with the leadership of the Ministry,
and that Cabinet will be briefed on the matter during its next meeting on
Monday, February 24.
“We are hearing of new cases of
assault against the teacher, assault among the children, and breaches of our
existing fences to have access to the schools,” the Minister noted.
Meanwhile,
Mr. Samuda said perimeter fences at 20 schools will be upgraded to curtail
access to the institutions.
“We did a complete island wide assessment of the perimeter fences and the problems of being able to access the schools from that particular area and the cost is very prohibitive; it came to $5 billion, and we are starting this year with 20 schools,” he said.
The
Minister pointed out that as resources become available, more schools will
benefit from the initiative.
Through
the MOU, Restaurants of Jamaica, under its KFC Add Hope Feeding Initiative, handed
over a cheque valued $7.4 million to Nutrition Products Limited to aid in providing
nutritious meals to students who benefit from the National School Feeding
Programme.
“We have to partner on this and
make sure that the environment in which these children can enjoy these meals is
such that they are not threatened in any way, by any element from within or
outside of the school system. You can be assured of that,” the Minister said.