The incident at the Houston Secondary School, during which a teacher, Kimone Gentle, armed herself with a cutlass, has been resolved with the parent of the offending student.
According to Guyana Teachers Union General Secretary Coretta McDonald, the teacher and the parent “sorted out their differences”.
McDonald, who spoke to this newspaper yesterday, added that while the incident was unfortunate, there is a breakdown in the school’s system and the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with teachers and parents, must work to find the root cause.
McDonald referred to another incident in Linden where teachers and students were attacked by an invading gang. A male teacher was also attacked in Berbice two weeks ago. She added that the ministry should put systems in place to guide policies surrounding issues of this nature.
Regarding the Houston Secondary incident, which went viral in a video on social media, other teachers were seen trying to restrain the teacher and student. However, the situation escalated and Gentle could be seen brandishing the weapon and rushing to the school gate. She and the child’s parent were both taken to the Ruimveldt Police Station. Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, President of the Guyana Teachers Union Mark Lyte, and McDonald visited the teacher at the police station.
The teacher had told reporters at the station, “What I want to say is that this thing has become the new COVID, and as an educator I would like to see a better relationship between teachers, parents and students. So we can work on what we are paid to do which is to educate charges in our area. I was attacked by a parent and a student.”
Lyte told reporters that the issue seems to be a new one plaguing the schools’ system. He added that applicable ways must be explored to resolve differences among teachers, students and parents. He proposed that the country needs reform legislation, better security at schools and counsellors to see children who have challenges.
GTU said in a press release, “We want our members to know that we are here to provide full support to them when these distasteful acts are meted out against them by parents and students.” The union called on the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Police Force to protect teachers at schools and provide them with the justice they deserve. The Guyana Police Force said that both the parent and teacher were accused of assault.
