Education Ministry reviewing report on stabbing of JC student

The Ministry of Education is reviewing a preliminary report into the stabbing of a Jamaica College (JC) student near the Rubis Gas Station on Constant Spring Road, St Andrew, on Tuesday afternoon.

The student, who was stabbed about 4:00 pm, was reportedly treated at hospital and later released.

Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon said on Wednesday that the ministry was in contact with the school and was awaiting further details on the incident.

“We don't have all the details in terms of what has happened. We are in communication with the principal of the school,” Morris Dixon said during Wednesday’s post-Cabinet media briefing.

She said she planned to contact the school’s principal and board chair following the briefing and had also reached out to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

“I know that the JCF is there, and I know that they are handling the situation,” the minister said.

Morris Dixon expressed concern about the stabbing, particularly as it involved a student travelling in the vicinity of the Half-Way-Tree commercial hub.

“It’s really sad anytime you hear any child being harmed on the way to school, at school, after school, in any circumstance,” she said.

She said the ministry would provide support to the school if necessary, once more information became available.

Meanwhile, detectives assigned to the St Andrew Central Police Station are continuing their investigation and are seeking information that could help identify the perpetrator.

The stabbing occurred despite a heightened police presence in Half-Way-Tree and surrounding areas following the start of the new school year last week.

St Andrew Central commanding officer, Superintendent Mark Harris, said police have been conducting after-school patrols and escorting students home as part of efforts to improve student safety.

“We have been out there in the space right through. This just happened a little further up the road from where the police were at the time,” Harris said.

He said the incident demonstrated how difficult it can be to prevent sudden acts of violence, even with officers deployed in areas frequented by students.

“But it doesn't matter how good you are, it just takes one man with a knife to just stab somebody,” Harris noted.

Harris also noted that incidents involving students can sometimes develop while they are waiting at bus stops or otherwise idling after school.

The stabbing comes amid broader concerns about security at schools, with Morris Dixon also disclosing that several recently renovated schools in western Jamaica have been targeted by burglars.

She said new equipment had been installed at some of the schools as part of the recovery following Hurricane Melissa, but a number of break-ins have since been reported.

“I've been in contact with our Minister of National Security, and he is working with the team at the JCF to try to get to the bottom of that,” Morris Dixon said.

Police are appealing to anyone with information about Tuesday’s stabbing to come forward and assist with the investigation.

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