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School principals have urged swift action to regulate vendors operating outside school premises, citing concerns over students’ health and the circumvention of nutrition policies. 

Robin Douglas, president of the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPSS), has called for immediate legislation to address the issue, on the heels of recent  reports of suspected psychoactive substance sales to primary school children.

He expressed concern that at present, students can buy what they want from  vendors before school in the morning and afterwards in the afternoon and nothing can be done about it.

Using the Schools’ Nutrition Policy and a recent revelation by the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) of the suspected sale of psychoactive substances to primary school children as a reference point, Douglas stressed that while he could not accuse any vendor of criminal activity, there is urgent need for legislation to control what is happening outside the gates of schools.

“There is need for legislation to be rewritten to be able to have something to say to persons outside of the schools’ compound. My school here at Combermere would not be the only problem, this is a problem across all schools, where vendors that are on the outside of the compound, there is nothing that you can do to stop them from being where they are,” the BAPPSS leader told Barbados TODAY.

Acknowledging that the situation poses a challenge to school administrators, Douglas, principal of the Combermere School, suggested that the time may now be right for the call for legislation to be heeded to hasten the legal process.

“The sooner, the better. There is need to heed a strong call that indicates there are major concerns regarding, not just the dietary concerns, but more concerns for the mental and physical health of our children because of the concerns regarding the things that we can’t control,” he said.

“The reality is,” the educational administrator added, “if you have a nutrition policy that is being circumvented by the fact that children can either buy what they want to eat in the morning or just hold their money and buy it when they leave in the evening, then the nutrition policy is being circumvented, and the in-school canteen, they comply with the measures for the nutrition policy, would of course, see a reduced revenue from students who would then buy outside. So it is a difficult situation, and there are not many avenues for school administrators to take.”

Douglas gave an assurance that administrators would not want to deprive anyone of opportunities to make an honest living, but at the same time, he is adamant that school authorities still needed to be more vigilant and watch for any signs of changes in behaviour so they can determine the source.

The BAPPSS president insisted: “I would not be so bold as to suggest that anybody is doing anything criminal. Persons are trying to make a living. However, one of the main difficulties is the way in which it works against the implementation of our nutrition policy.”

He suggested the need for even greater vigilance over what children are consuming in light of the suspected sale of drugs to students.

“There is little that can be done regarding external vending. Without having evidence to suggest that someone is involved in that type of activity, you certainly can’t place that upon persons. It is about vigilance and response given the current concerns that you would have,” Douglas contended.

He said while there is no legal backing to move vendors from outside schools, the only other possible options may be if they are operating from people’s lands without permission or don’t possess health certificates. Vendors can also circumvent these certificates, he explained.

 emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

The post Call for legislation to regulate school vendors amid health concerns appeared first on Barbados Today.

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The Barbados Cancer Society (BCS) has sounded the alarm on the increasing incidence of colon cancer in the country, attributing it largely to Barbadians’ current diet.

This urgent health concern was highlighted during the society’s annual raffle prize-giving ceremony, where campaigners called for immediate action to address the growing crisis.

The Cancer Society president, Professor David Rosin, emphasised the urgent need for dietary improvements to curb the trend.

“The [second] most common cancer [here] is colon cancer [and] it’s probably due to diet,” he explained. “It’s another cancer that is also more commonly passed down through families. Why it is increasing here [however] is because of the diet. Your parents and grandparents ate a much healthier diet with high fibre, lots of breadfruit, etcetera, whereas nowadays, I’m afraid to say, it’s a lot of fast food and food which is low in fibre.

“Really, we have to impress upon people and also the young people in the schools that they should eat healthy.”

The professor also highlighted the prevalence of prostate cancer, with over 300 cases reported annually.

Professor Rosin said: “Here in Barbados, the commonest of cancer is still – despite it being half the population [men] – prostate cancer.

There are in fact 320 new cases every year out of a population of 285 000 people. That is about 45 per cent of all cancers [reported locally]. It’s really something to worry about.

“The anxiety here is not only is it the commonest cancer, but it is also unfortunately more aggressive and occurring in younger men.”

Shelly-Ann Forde, the society’s administrative director, added that recent community outreach efforts have seen rising interest among some men in coming forward for the necessary testing.

She said: “At a recent outreach event sponsored by [the Bureau of] Gender Affairs, we were doing free screenings and we even had to turn back some of the men. We already had the initiative to go out into the community before that, but that kind of reinforced the fact that men do want to be screened, and if there is an opportunity they do come out and try to be screened.”

However, Professor Rosin said the current number of men coming forward remains inadequate and urged families to encourage testing.

He said: “I would ask their wives, sisters, brothers, to come forward and say to them ‘be sensible; go and have a PSA test’. If you can [diagnose] a cancer at the beginning, the treatment is much less aggressive, and you won’t need radical surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, all that. It’s really almost stupid not to be screened.”

During the event, the first-place winners of the 2024 BCS raffle, Raymond and Sheena Gill, represented by Shauntel Rock, received a $25 000 prize. They donated $5 000 of their winnings to the Cancer Society.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb

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