EDUCATION Minister Andrew Holness says schools would be supported in alternative methods of instilling discipline, instead of the use of corporal punishment, which he called demeaning and outdated.

The minister said the possibility of prosecuting delinquent parents, placing deans of discipline in all high schools, and the introduction of a behaviour management strategy were some of the ways schools will be assisted in enforcing discipline in students.

Director of administration at Kingston Bookshop, Sonia Fuller, pins a boutonniere on the lapel of the Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, on his arrival at a teachers' luncheon, hosted by Kingston Bookshop at the Terra Nova Hotel in Kingston on Tuesday. Sharing in the occasion is assistant director of administration at the bookshop, Shauna Fuller.

Speaking at a luncheon in honour of teachers in St Andrew Tuesday, Holness said while some teachers felt corporal punishment was an effective tool, it was failing to achieve the desired impact.

"For 300 years, we have been giving our children some serious licks. I think it's time that we try something else, don't you?" the minister said to murmuring from some teachers at the Terra Nova Hotel.

"The evidence is clear that corporal punishment is only a short-term solution to instilling discipline. Violent, demeaning, aggressive disciplinary instruction only teaches our children that the only way to change behaviour is by resorting to violence. And we sit and wonder why our society is so violent?" Holness said.

He said that Jamaica, as a signatory to several international conventions on children's rights and with the passage of the Child Care and Protection Act, corporal punishment in schools was in contradiction of the country's laws.

"I'm not going to back down, we're going to argue it through because this is one of the keys to changing the outcomes of our current education system", Holness said.

But to support the teachers in their efforts, the role of parents would be formalised with the establishment of the parenting commission. The commission will develop programmes of minimum standards of parenting, provide support to parents and institute a public education campaign on parenting. Churches and other organisations will also be utilised in this regard.

Holness said he would ensure the prosecution of "neglectful and delinquent parents", if necessary. He cited as examples parents "who allow their little ones to end up at dance, leave their children to go to dance, and go to school to cuss off the teacher".

In the meantime, the minister said the process to create the post of dean of discipline in all secondary schools would not be completed in time for the next academic year in September. "Schools who want to put in a dean of discipline on their own, should do so, with the assurance that come September, the past will be formalised. Some schools already have the post", he said.

The behaviour management strategy to be implemented by the deans of discipline would include classroom management, building self esteem of students, and systems of punishment including detentions, demerits and suspensions.

"The regular classroom teacher ought not to be overburdened in dealing with these issues...The schools will be more empowered now," said the education minister.

At the luncheon, sponsored by Kingston Bookshop Ltd, educators Dahlia Repole, principal of Excelsior Community College and Ruel Reid, principal of Jamaica College, were honoured, while retiring principal of St Jago High School, Keith Noel was recognised for his 'unique contribution' to education through the arts and sports.