It was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who said during his general election campaign that his government’s passion would be: “education, education, education.”

It was a simple formula. Ensure the schooling is right and the rest will follow. Simple to a point, but difficult to execute. Blair won that election, but many will say he didn’t quite deliver on his promise. Sure, schools in the UK improved but 10 years after he made that pledge, the country still has obvious problems among its youth.

In yesterday’s iNews we revealed how all five victims of the latest wave of gang-related murders had attended the Alternative Education Centre (AEC). Last month, Minister for Education Rolston Anglin admitted the AEC clearly wasn’t working and needed a complete overhaul.

But it must be said that for a child to attend the centre then there has obviously been a failing in the schooling chain some way before. Boys only go there as a last resort. So what can we do to improve things beforehand?

Sure, we have opportunities in Cayman. There’s a fabulous law school run in partnership with the UK’s Liverpool University and our medical and veterinary learning centres are first class, but we cannot expect all children to aspire to those professions. We need more grass-roots schemes. Apprenticeships and government backed training courses in blue-collar professions. We need to teach courses in plumbing, electrical work, motor mechanics and joinery. All these professions do, and always will, provide jobs in the future.

This week a team of police officers arrived from the UK to help. We are also seeking assistance from Canada’s legal profession to look at securing more convictions when criminal cases get to court. Both very worthy and important in maintaining a safe status quo in Cayman. But what about trying to solve the problem before? Why not seek help and advice from those directly involved in overseas education.

Starting early and finding a way to nip things in the bud is crucial. Children need a purpose, guidance and a goal in life, but importantly they need three things more than anything else. They need education, education and education.