Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T Presented by: Erlene Benjamin

7/4/2006Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T 2 Introduction The presentation seeks to share best practices carried out by the Ministry of Education to: address the promotion of democratic values and practices in schools in T&T.

7/4/2006Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T 3 YTC Mentoring Programme Programmes held in 20 schools in students reached in In , a total of 35 schools and 10,200 students have been engaged in the programme.

Security Initiatives: Strengthen and enhance the security system in schools

7/4/2006Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T 5 Recruitment of School Safety Officers SummaryTrinidadTobagoTotal SSOs Employed161Nil161 Male SSOs128Nil128 Female SSOs33Nil33 Schools with 2 SSOs79Nil79 Schools with 1 SSO03Nil03 Total Schools with SSOs82Nil82 Schools without SSOs Vacancies071421

Police Lectures Training of 83 Deans in the identification and reporting of infractions of the law, was conducted in September – October SSOs and TTPS are conducting “in school” training. School lectures are being conducted in schools.

7/4/2006Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T 7 Effect of Strategies on the School Environment 50% reduction in suspension notices issued to secondary school students. Schools with safety officers deployed have no police presence. Reduction in the reports of incident/accident related injuries in schools. Increase in the number of PTAs and Student Councils in secondary schools.

7/4/2006Promotion of a Culture of Legality and Justice in T&T 8 The Way Forward Scientific evaluation of the impact of the Action Plan initiatives on school discipline by the DERE (based on the baseline assessment conducted at the commencement of the programme). Data for two years following have been collected. Education for Democratic Citizenship Programme is a component of the MNS’s Citizen Security Programme.

End of Presentation Thank You