WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government is moving to formally establish a multidisciplinary working group on school safety following consultations with education unions, school administrators and police over concerns about violence and security on school grounds.
The working group will include civil servants from the ministries involved, representatives of education unions and representatives of school administrations. It is expected to be formally established through a National Decree.
The decision follows meetings during the past week involving Justice Minister Shalten Hato, Social Development, Labor and Welfare Minister Charetti America-Francisca and Education Minister Sithree van Heydoorn, as well as the Curaçao Police Force and unions DOEN, STSK, ABVO and STRaF.
School administrators were also brought into the discussions.
The government said it decided not to wait for the formal establishment of the working group before taking action. Members already met Thursday to prepare measures that will begin being implemented on Monday, September 28.
The task force will continue examining additional proposals aimed at improving safety for students, teachers, other school employees and the wider school community.
According to the government, several proposals have already been presented that could potentially be implemented over the short, medium and long term. The working group will analyze those proposals and advise the government on further action.
The establishment of the group comes after education unions increased pressure on the government to address longstanding concerns about safety in schools.
DOEN said earlier this week that investments in school care structures, supervision accompanied by appropriate guidance, safety plans and preventive measures were among its priorities. The union had warned that further labor action could follow if the talks with the government failed to produce concrete results.
The measures announced by the government include targeted police surveillance at higher-risk schools, a standardized system for reporting and following up on incidents and designated school-safety contact persons.
The government described school safety as a shared responsibility and said it expects unions, school administrations, education personnel and judicial authorities to continue participating constructively in the process.
According to the government, the measures beginning Monday should be regarded as the first phase rather than the conclusion of the school safety initiative.