School welfare officers and counsellors attached to the Ministry of Education Monday began a two-day special training on the use of restorative justice in schools, which could essentially replace corporal punishment and other archaic and old-school methods of administering discipline.
Restorative practices have been used in schools globally as an alternative to corporal punishment and suspensions within the school system. It is being described as the modern, holistic way of dealing with issues of wrongdoing. And while not an end-all to the disciplinary measures in place, it is intended to serve as more of a complementary measure for now.
The training of the officers, who are representing schools in Georgetown and along the East Coast Demerara, is being conducted at the Guyana Police Force Training Centre, in Georgetown.
Senior Welfare Officer in the Ministry of Education Cornella Leitch said the training should widen the scope of thinking for the officers and help to expand their knowledge on how to deal with certain behaviours.
“The goal of restorative practice is to help people understand their actions and how their actions impacted others, and what they can do in correcting their actions,” Leitch said.
She added: “We no longer want corporal punishment – the cane, the bamboo, the ruler – to beat the children. Let us learn new techniques … Let us improve what is being done at the Ministry of Education.”
Director of the Restorative Justice Centre, William Boston, shared that restorative practices give far more remedial results as they relate to amicable resolutions, rehabilitation, and reintegration, as opposed to the old-fashioned ways of administering discipline, which he pointed out do not always bring the best results.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Adele Clarke, informed the participants that the overall objective is to address two problems facing the criminal justice system, which are to reduce the overreliance on custodial sentences and to reduce the overuse of pretrial detention for minor offenses.
According to her, the system will be expanded to all 10 administrative regions with a restorative officer being present wherever there is a probation office.
“You will discover that a system for restorative justice not only seeks reconciliation between the victim and the offender but it also holds the offender accountable which can be a catalyst for behaviour change.”
The Restorative Justice Centre was established in 2023 as a result of a partnership between the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Inter-American Development Bank which resulted in the Support for the Criminal Justice System Programme.
This programme saw the passing of the Restorative Justice Act 2022.
After the training, participants should be able to define and clarify the principles of restorative justice, differentiate between restorative practice and justice, explain the importance of social discipline, and conduct restorative practice sessions with offenders and the offended using circles.
The post ‘We no longer want corporal punishment…to beat the children’ appeared first on News Room Guyana.