The National Parent Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) is hopeful that this academic year will be seamless and uninterrupted by crime and violence.

NPTAJ President Stewart Jacobs laments that the last academic year saw several incidents of violence in schools and their immediate environs.

Some of the incidents led to classes being disrupted.

For instance in April, some 14 St. Catherine schools closed their doors for a day, as tensions flared following the fatal shooting of an alleged gangster by the police.

Mr. Jacobs is hopeful that there will not be a repeat of such incidents this year.