Former Saint Lucia Education Minister Dr. Gale Rigobert has cautioned against playing the blame game amid student indiscipline and violence in the education system while advocating collective action.
“We need not be quick to attribute blame to any one person, sector or entity,” the former Micoud North MP told reporters.
Rigobert is currently Dean of Academics at the University of St. Martin.
She was one of the speakers at a National Principals Association (NPA) conference in Saint Lucia last week.
She said that now more than ever, there must be recognition that school indiscipline and violence require collective intervention.
“It cannot be left to any one person, agency, institution, or organisation,” the former Minister told reporters on the margins of the NPA conference.
Her comments came amid a police probe into a chopping incident at the Ciceron Secondary school.
Emergency personnel transported two students to the hospital as a result of the incident, believed linked to gang activity.
Rigobert declared that schools are a microcosm of the society.
As a result, she asserted that the institutions would reflect what is happening in the community.
“We all have a stake in this,” Rigobert explained.
She spoke of the need for policy interventions at all levels, including the community and family, to shield the schools as much as possible from what is happening in the wider community.
The former Minister said she was happy with some of the interventions she had heard so far.
In addition, Rigobert hoped that the nation would evolve to recognise that no person, family, institution, or organisation is immune from what is happening around them.
“It is for that reason that I continue to emphasise and advocate for a collective approach to the many ills that beset us right now,” she stated.
Well said Rigo ! It’s about time to reason without playing the political games.
This appears to be a paradigm shift from the “political blame games” an finger-pointing of a previous time; well at least for her. Nevertheless, a timely and appropriate comment…even sounds like what ought to be enunciated by the LOO, who is doing a rather poor job of it.
Cheers to Ms. Rigobert.
Chas better look out, else here comes his replacement should she continue in this vein.
Nice to see your lovely smile baby, dem beautiful white teeth, eyes that speak a thousand words, I did miss you but really, your Doctorate gained you a much better place where you deserve the respected; I just cannot ask you to return, but from where you are, you are obviously aware of what has become of our lovely Island home.
@ Patriotic Lucian: who said something I may agree with, but rather say a big NO be it for Dr. Rigo or any well entrenched Lucian; if Chas has to go down once more, it may be a blessing for his family and his father, who needs his whole attention to family business.
Politics in St. Lucia today is for the Locals who are going no where fast, some good & some not so bad. A couple things that disgusted me most, was the way the ‘Speaker of the House’ treated the former P.M. and a close Minister & adviser to PjP maneuvered his usual way, to sell Crown Lands, at a price much lower than market value and I think is Illegal. My LORD help St. Lucia
Truly a collective approach is needed as you stated. However, in times past when a neighbor/concerned friend was able to lend a hand in providing some discipline to a child without a tongue lashing from the parent/guardian/care giver has long gone.
Thanks for your input Dr Rigobert. Much appreciated. Good luck in your new post.
Your comments are spot on. You have been one of St Lucia’s best ministers of Education. A pity some Pitbull and once his worse enemy turn speaker did so much damage to your reputation. The media especially HTS and MBC destroyed you and your party so now we are paying the price for listening to those who promised to put us first. We can do with your wisdom in these dire straits that we are in.
I am fed up narratives. I need action, we have all sorts of talking and nothing happen thereafter. The dunce is left to fend for themselves while the smart ones just jump ship and move on. You can write a book about diplomacy, and also give a manual of instructions. If it is unable to translate to tangible change therefore the narratives are then translated to fiction. Why? because there is no one to implement it or don’t understand how to do it.
I agree with Dr Rigobert’s comments wholeheartedly, and I also agree with @anonymous – implementation is the key, and this seems to be the downfall in St Lucia in every avenue of Government programs and services – NO ONE knows how to do it, or perhaps they just don’t have the will…