More social workers, guidance counsellors needed in schools—TTUTA

RADHICA DE SILVA
Senior Multimedia Reporter
radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

TTUTA president Martin Lum Kin is urging the Ministry of Education to take immediate action to prevent students from falling through the cracks by placing social workers and guidance counsellors in every school nationwide.

His call comes in response to rising concerns about gang infiltration and unchecked bullying in schools, highlighted by the tragic suicide of Jayden Lalchan, who endured three years of alleged bullying at St Stephen’s College without intervention from school officials.

Speaking to Guardian Media outside the Holy Faith Convent school in Couva where the TTUTA Convention for County Caroni was being held on Friday, Lum Kin stressed that without dedicated support staff, vulnerable students are left without the help they desperately need.

He said the referral process for students needing intervention was plagued by bureaucracy and delays.

Speaking on the challenges faced by schools, Lum Kin noted that the Student Support Services Division (SSSD), responsible for handling cases of bullying and other behavioural issues, is severely understaffed and underresourced.

He explained that the process for referring students is lengthy, requires extensive paperwork, and often takes far too long for effective intervention.
“The internal referral goes through the school’s intervention team, then to the SSSD. The external referral, which often involves more paperwork, adds further delays. By the time these processes are completed, the children in need are not getting timely support,” he said.

He added that deans who are responsible for making referrals are often burdened with teaching responsibilities, further slowing down the process. “Many schools lack the full complement of deans, and the slow pace of filling these vacancies exacerbates the problem,” he explained.

Lum Kin emphasised that the increasing reports of bullying, student misconduct, and gang activity in schools are signs that more resources are urgently needed. “If you don’t have dedicated social workers, guidance officers, or special education teachers located at each school, the issues remain unaddressed,” he said.

He urged parents who feel that their children are not receiving the help they need to continue making representations to school officials and, if necessary, escalate their concerns to the district offices and school supervisors.

He acknowledged that teachers are doing their best with the limited resources available but stressed that the Ministry of Education must take immediate steps to adequately resource the SSSD and provide dedicated officers at every school to ensure that interventions can take place quickly and effectively.

“We are not satisfied with the current process,” Lum Kin said.

“We need the unit to be resourced properly, with officers at every school, so intervention can begin at the Early Childhood Care Centre level, continuing through primary and secondary schools.”

Lum Kin called on the Ministry of Education to address the shortcomings in the system and prevent more students from slipping through the cracks.

Speaking in Parliament last week, Minister Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry has been piloting restorative practices at 11 schools over the last academic year, teaching students how to handle conflict and recover from tragedy.

She revealed that the ministry has also hired over 80 school social workers and 40 guidance counsellors, bringing the total to 227 school social workers and 282 guidance counsellors. 

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