The Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday said that it is aware of the recent incident that occurred on Friday, February 17, 2023, at Woodley Park Secondary School, West Coast Berbice.
Contrary to previous reports, the release said that the headteacher and students were engaged by the police, and based on the information received, two individuals were contacted, one an adult and the other a child.
The police have already begun an investigation into the matter, and one person is currently in custody, the release said.
A planned engagement between the police, teachers, and students of Woodley Park Secondary School will be held to further aid with the investigation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs said it “condemns in the strongest possible terms any or all occurrence of racially motivated attacks, particularly on our schoolchildren”.
Meanwhile, on her Facebook page, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said: “A very serious allegation of verbal and physical abuse of students accompanied by alleged unacceptable and criminal racist language has come to my attention regarding children attending the Woodley Park Secondary School. This will be fully investigated both by the Guyana Police Force as well as the Regional Education Department and as soon as those findings are available I will make them public. In the meanwhile every action will be taken to keep our children attending that school safe. And anyone who attempts to interfere with that will be dealt with condignly”.
On Saturday, the PNCR said that on the 17th of February 2023, during the instructional period, the peace of the Woodley Park Secondary School was disturbed by some residents of Woodley Park Village, West Coast Berbice.
“During this disturbance (which was a continuation of a similar occurrence on the 16th of February 2023 on the entrance streets to the school) Afro-Guyanese students were physically assaulted and verbally abused as seen in a video emanating from parents of students from the above-mentioned school. Persons were seen armed with pieces of wood walking around the compound of the school as parents and teachers confronted the intruders in the presence of students. In the said video recording one student complained to a teacher that he was cuffed. Subsequently, photographs from parents sent to Member of Parliament Vinceroy Jordan showed the severity of physical injuries to the hands, feet and head of the affected students”, the party said in a release.
While parents and teachers tried their utmost to put the intruders out of the compound, the PNCR said that they vowed in the presence of all to return after lunch on Friday 17th of February 2023. This matter was then reported to the Department of Education, Region No. 5 while the parents reported the matter to the Police.
It is reported that just as the villagers promised to return the following day, a larger gang of villagers converged at the school and attacked only Afro-Guyanese students this time causing bodily injuries, disrupting school sessions for the remainder of the day. There was no security guard at the school, the party added.
The PNCR said that a follow up on the reports that were made by teachers and parents at the Fort Wellington Police Station indicated that no arrest was made. Senior officials of the school visited the Education Department seeking immediate help but at that time no Education Officer was present to give guidance while the Regional Education Officer could not be reached by telephone.
“The Ministry of Education through the Department of Education has failed to visit the school or the affected children and parents so as to give guidance on this matter. This leaves the parents and teachers with more questions of their safety and security of their well-being both at school and while traversing the community to get to school”, the PNCR said in the release.
“We are, therefore, calling on the Ministers of Education and Home Affairs to immediately investigate this matter and put mechanisms in place so as to ensure that instructional periods are not further disturbed and the parents and students can feel safe returning to school”, the party added.
It added that the Rights of the Child Commission as an independent body has an active role to play in this particular matter in ensuring they advocate for the rights and interests of children and the young people affected in this heinous crime.
The party also called on the Ethnic Relations Commission which it says has a constitutional function, to foster a sense of security among all ethnic groups to investigate this matter and make the findings public.
