The mother of an Enmore Primary School child says that her son was grabbed by a male teacher of the school before being slammed into the window because the youngster stood and observed the teacher and one of his colleagues arguing over a blackboard.
Priya Hansraj yesterday said that the incident happened last week but because she got no satisfaction from the school she reported the matter to the Enmore Police Station yesterday.
The woman said her son is very traumatised by the incident and she is calling on the relevant authorities to investigate the matter. Stabroek News was told that the matter was also drawn to the attention of the regional education office but when this newspaper finally made contact with the Regional Educational Officer, Sandra Smith, after several phone calls she informed the reporter that her working day ends at three-thirty. “I am just catching up on some work, thank you and goodbye ma’am,” she said before disconnecting the call.
According to Hansraj, who has two sons attending the school, her child was passing a classroom and overheard the two teachers arguing over the blackboard and he stopped and looked in much to the annoyance of the male teachers. The teacher then approached the child and held him by the collar of his shirt before slamming him into the window and told him not to “piss him off.”
The woman said when she approached the teacher he gave her no satisfaction but stated that should she go to the ministry and if he is sanctioned in any way then she would be picked up with a spade.
Another relative of the child said the teacher told them that they can go to whoever they want as he is not afraid of anyone.
The boy’s mother said that she also approached the headmistress of the school who promised to look into the matter but took no action.
The woman also complained about another son of hers being placed to kneel in class because he spoke too loudly and after kneeling he was beaten. This incident happened sometime last term and she had also approached the headmistress in that instance but got no satisfaction.
She has since been sent a letter by the regional education department inviting her to a meeting on Monday.
Other parents levelled allegations against the very teacher who has reportedly been abusive to children and on one occasion rode his motorcycle into a group of children.
And while the law stipulates that corporal punishment should only be administered in the presence of the head of the school, parents spoke about their children being routinely beaten and on some occasions they suffer some injuries, such as swelling to their hands.
Meanwhile, several parents yesterday also complained about the general state of the primary school and some of the burning issues included teachers being absent from classes and the deplorable condition of the school’s sanitary facility.
According to the parents their children are sometimes forced to ask neighbours to use their toilets and some of them even relieve themselves in the school’s compound because the toilets are “no good.”
They are calling on the education officials to investigate the school since according to them sometimes as many as six teachers are absent from the school in one day. The parents said reports have been made to Smith’s office and she even visited the school on one occasion but they are not sure what was the outcome of the visit.
Parents were reluctant to go on record with their complaints as, according to some, they are afraid of their children being targeted by the teachers. (Oluatoyin Alleyne)
