WILLEMSTAD – Education union SITEK is calling on the Curaçao government to deploy soldiers at every school and take immediate action against violence, threats and weapons on and around school grounds.
The demand follows an extraordinary general membership meeting held by the union, just days after a September 18 incident in which a student reportedly pulled a knife and injured a teacher.
In a letter sent to the Council of Ministers on September 21, SITEK said immediate measures are necessary to guarantee the safety of teachers and other education employees.
The union wants authorities to take firm action against students, parents, visitors or others who threaten, intimidate or use violence at schools or in school transportation. SITEK argues that such behavior should immediately result in judicial consequences.
The union is also demanding stricter action against possession of weapons, objects that can be used as weapons and prohibited substances on school premises.
SITEK's general membership meeting went further by calling on the government to station military personnel at every school in Curaçao as a security measure.
The union demanded a government response to its September 21 letter by 6:00 p.m. that same day.
Years of Warnings About School Safety
SITEK says the latest demands are part of a much longer effort to address violence and insecurity in Curaçao's education system.
As far back as March 2014, the union wrote to Curaçao Parliament warning that schools were increasingly being confronted with unsafe situations.
At the time, SITEK presented an 18-point comprehensive school safety plan and called for coordinated involvement from several government sectors, including Education, Justice, Health and Finance, as well as the Curaçao Police Force and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The union again raised concerns in October 2023, pointing to increasing violence and aggression in society and asking authorities to consider its initiative to improve safety within education.
By October 2025, SITEK said its previously submitted legislative proposal had still not been adopted. According to the union, the proposal was then in its final stage before the Council of Advice, where additional financial information was being collected.
SITEK again approached the Council of Ministers in January 2026, warning that education employees were being confronted with violence and aggression on an almost daily basis. The union requested immediate consultations with the Prime Minister and the ministers responsible for Justice and Education.
The September 18 knife incident has now intensified those longstanding concerns.
The government, meanwhile, has been discussing additional school safety measures with other education unions. Measures under consideration include bag checks, increased visibility of authorities at higher-risk schools, improved reporting of incidents, prevention programs, staff training and emergency drills.
SITEK's proposal to station soldiers at every school, however, represents a considerably more far-reaching security measure and further increases pressure on the government to respond to concerns about violence in Curaçao's schools.