Several non-governmental organizations have made calls for an investigation to be done into the events following the flogging of two teenage girls from Awarewanau primary school in Deep South Rupununi.
In a letter published in yesterday’s edition of Stabroek News, the organizations which included Help & Shelter, Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association, Red Thread, ChildLink and the Guyana Women Lawyers Association expressed their outrage at the dismissal of the charges against the two teachers involved in the incident.
Early last month, a video had surfaced showing what was described as an extreme application of the controversial corporal punishment.
The video which was recorded in February of this year and posted to the Alliance For Change (AFC) Facebook page showed the two teenage girls, aged 15 and 13 years respectively being stripped of their school uniform, restrained by four adults including two teachers and beaten on their bare buttocks with a homemade leather belt.
In their letter, the civil society members contended that the continued use of corporal punishment in the school system is in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adding that corporal punishment attacks the child’s body and not the problem itself.
The letter also made reference to the 21st session of the United Nations Universal Periodic Review held in January 2015 where recommendations were made to prohibit all corporal punishment of children to a number of countries, including Guyana. According to the letter, Guyana is one of only 22 countries worldwide that does not fully prohibit corporal punishment in any setting.
Therefore, they have called for an immediate investigation into the report that the teachers responsible for the flogging of the Rupununi students are back in the school system.
Additionally, a call for an immediate investigation into reports that the charges of assault causing grievous bodily harm against the teachers have been dismissed was also made.
More so, they requested that the reason for the mode of action taken by the magistrate at the Lethem Magistrate’s Court to be communicated to all those involved in the incident including the school, students, parents and communities of Deep South Rupununi “who have been subjected to the trauma of this atrocious violation of human rights, which is an affront to all children and the nation as a whole.”
When this newspaper sought a comment from Chief Education Officer Olato Sam yesterday, he denied that the teachers are back on the job, stating that they had been sent on administrative leave since the incident was brought to the attention of the ministry.
Sam also stated that the Teaching Service Commission is awaiting the relevant documents from the Lethem Magistrate’s court before it proceeds with its own form of action against the teachers.
In a previous Stabroek News report, Minister of Education Dr Rupert Roopnaraine was quoted as saying that he “in collaboration with the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Social Protection are investigating the matter, and will take appropriate action.”
The news report had also mentioned the guidelines surrounding the administration of corporal punishment in Guyanese schools.
The 2002 Ministerial Guidelines allow for “corporal punishment to be administered by the head teacher, deputy head teacher or designated senior teacher for certain offences including fighting and use of indecent language.”
According to the guidelines, “boys should be punished on their hands or buttocks, girls on their hands; the punishments should be inflicted with a cane or strap no longer than 24 inches and not in the presence of other learners, and all punishments should be recorded in the Misdemeanors Book.”
According to Mohamed Khan who brought the situation to public’s attention in a letter to the editor, the girls were reportedly beaten for skipping school. He also stated that “the students were hospitalized for weeks with pain and marks of violence.”
Additionally, Khan revealed that the villagers feel that the two teachers, one male and one female who were involved in the beating should be removed from the school since they are in the habit of administering such beatings.
