Principal: Drugs don’t cause school violence

A prominent principal is disagreeing with Minister of Education, Hazel Manning’s views that the use of illicit drugs could be the cause of recent incidents of school violence.

Bishops Anstey High School East principal, Barbara Davis, gave her views last Friday in an interview for television news. She said educators have always had to fight illicit drugs, but  these substances were not the only reason pupils showed violent tendencies in schools.  Davis said: “I would say that the drug culture in Trinidad is not new and certainly it is not the only cause of school violence.” Following Manning’s statement also blaming school violence on Carnival, Davis was asked if she had noticed such a link during her 30-plus years in teaching. Davis replied: “No. I don’t think so. I’m not in agreement solely with that. But I do think more young people may be dabbling in illegal drugs.”