THE violence affecting schools across the island will be among the issues Minister of Education, Andrew Holness addresses when he speaks in the sectoral debate today at Gordon House.

"The ministry has a comprehensive plan to address the problem, and I will be dealing with it in Parliament tomorrow," Holness told the Observer yesterday.

Since 2006 the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) and other stakeholders have been urging the ministry to lay down policy on offences for which students can be expelled from school. This had become necessary in light of the growing anti-social atmosphere affecting public schools.

Teachers have complained that that the ministry's code of conduct speaks only to procedures by which students can be expelled, but not the offences which should attract expulsion. In the absence of ministry policy, the JTA recommended that the schools develop their rules and regulations to be presented to students entering the schools. However, this has not proven effective.

Holness said that another important issue which he will address is the current transformation in education programme, on which he will give an update as well as spell out where he intends to take the process which started under the previous government.

The debate, which resumes at 2:00 pm should also include contributions from Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Shahine Robinson. She is expected to focus on the new Constituency Development Programme (CDP), which has allocated some $40 million to each of the 60 MPs in Parliament for local development works, for which she is responsible.

Opposition spokesman on tourism, Dr Wykeham McNeill is also expected to speak.