Govt probes attack on teacher

KINGSTON – The Ministry of Education has ordered a probe into an incident where eight students of a secondary school attacked and injured a school teacher earlier this week.
In a statement, the ministry expressed alarm at the attack and said an investigation had been launched into the incident at the Seaforth High School located in the eastern parish of St Thomas on Wednesday.
“The assessment is being carried out to ascertain whether there are underlying issues at the institution that needs to be addressed” the statement read.
The Ministry of Education said it was expressed concern that only three weeks ago, there had been a stabbing incident at the same school.
“We have been monitoring the critical incident reports and we have been in dialogue with the police because the police themselves have expressed concern about the presence of gangs and certain antisocial behaviour amongst some of the students,” said Audrey Sewell, the permanent secretary in the Education Ministry.
Three of the eight students involved in the beating of the teacher, have been each released on J$50 000 (BDS$1 174) bail.
The police said they were still searching for the other students.
Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Association (JTA) said it was not satisfied with the response of the Ministry of Education to the spate of attacks on its members.
JTA president Nadine Molloy Young said it was time for the Ministry of Education to take stronger action to protect teachers while they are carrying out their duties.
“It brings again into sharp focus the point we have been making [that] our teachers are under attack and the Ministry of Education needs to move in a more forceful way to bring to book, to make it very clear, that we’re not going to be tolerating this kind of attack on the very persons that we expect to drive the economic development of this country.
“It must be that the ministry can take a position that will ensure that teachers feel safer and secure at schools,” Molloy Young said. (CMC)