An investigation into allegations of predation by a male teacher at a secondary school in Region Nine has recommended that the findings be shared with the Childcare and Protection Agency.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) had been probing allegations of predation by a male teacher attached to the Region Nine school.
A ministry official, when contacted for a comment, noted that the matter was brought to the ministry’s attention and that senior officers had been dispatched to the region to investigate.
However, this newspaper has since been informed that following the investigation the MoE has been advised that the information gathered should be shared with the Childcare and Protection Agency so that the agency can proceed with legal action if need be.
Additionally, the ministry official, in a response to questions about whether the findings of the report warrants any disciplinary action against the teacher and if this be the case what action will be taken, said, “When all procedures are completed, whatever disciplinary action(s) is/are warranted will be applied.”
Meanwhile, according to information received, the teacher, who is in his mid-twenties, had been accused of being intimately involved with several female students at the school, one of whom recently died. It has been alleged that the teen ended her life but her family has denied the claim.
This newspaper has been told that parents continued to voice their objections to the teacher’s presence at the school, particularly since it is not the first time such allegations were made against the man.
One parent who spoke with Stabroek News explained that at one point reports were made by students, who are accommodated in the dormitory, that the teacher had been “interfering” with them, which resulted in an investigation being launched.
This allegation was reportedly denied by both the man and his mother, who is also a senior teacher at the school. Due to the unwillingness of witnesses to offer evidence against the man, the investigation was eventually closed.
“This is not the first time he has been accused of this; he was released once from teaching but returned last month. No one was willing to speak up on it, even myself but after seeing the outcome of one student I had to say something,” the parent related.
“A teacher told me [his mother] is well aware of everything and is covering for him; all the staff and students know about it. One teacher said he wouldn’t stop with the students so he have to go,” the parent added.
Asked how the said teacher was allowed to work at the same school as his relative, considering that the Teaching Service Commission has rules which frown upon relatives being placed at the same school, the ministry official explained, “The young man in question was teaching at the school as a volunteer, however, corrective steps will be taken through the appropriate channels.”
