Police have arrested two students from the Ste Madeleine Secondary School for drug possession.
The youngsters were detained on their school compound on Wednesday, after the drugs were found in their school bags during a search. However, conflicting reports claim the students were transporting the drugs in their buttocks.
Chairman of the Concerned Parents Movement Clarence Mendoza, has voiced concern about the worsening deviant behaviour in the school and called for accountability among parents.
“I was told the children were transporting the drugs in their buttocks. This happens in the jail system and on the streets. We are asking now that sniffer dogs be used on the children when they come through the school gates,” Mendoza said.
He said some schools in the Victoria and Caroni Districts have had an escalation of juvenile delinquency.
“Form One students are being robbed and the robbers are using the money to buy drugs in school. Students are having sex and teachers are afraid to go into some school blocks,” he revealed.
Mendoza emphasised the need for additional safety officers, social workers and guidance counsellors in all schools.
“We want to have discussions with the Ministry of Education about what is happening in our nation’s schools. We realise there is something that is triggering these children and it must be dealt with. These students don’t care. They smoke in front of you, they gamble in front of you. Teachers do not want to go in the back of a block with these kinds of students,” Mendoza said.
He also stressed that students should undergo drug testing if they are caught transporting drugs.
“We continue to ask that a new arm of National Security be put in place, truancy officers, who can deal with these children outside the gates,” Mendoza said.
He noted that the school administration in Ste Madeleine has been working to stop deviance in the school.
“During the morning assembly, drug-related warnings and cautions are given, yet the Ste Madeleine students have been caught with drugs,” he said.
He called on parents to step up and do more to curb this crisis.