A Point Fortin mother is calling for the immediate suspension of a male teacher at the Vance River RC school who allegedly collared her nine-year-old son, violently shook him and hit his head on a wall during class last week. Gonzales Village, Guapo resident Jame Nicholas, a security guard and mother of four, visited the T&T Guardian pleading for her son’s story to be heard.
Nicolas said her son Omari, who is a Standard Two pupil at the school, had been traumatised from the alleged attack and has been suffering from fever and headaches since then. “He told me he went to complain about another student calling him a ‘macomere man’ but the teacher told him ‘That’s because you is a ‘macomere man,’” Nicholas claimed. “Omari told him, ‘Sir, you can’t tell me that’ and the teacher collared him and started shaking him, hitting his head on the wall.”
Nicholas said after the incident Omari was told to sit down. The concerned mother said although the incident took place just after lunch time, she only became aware of it when the school’s principal called her mother (Omari’s grandmother) around 4 pm that day to apologise. “The principal called my mother and told her she wants to apologise for her teacher’s behaviour. It was only then we found out. She told my mother she wasn’t in school and other students told her when she came back,” Nicholas said.
She said her son went to lessons after school and when he came home at about 5.30 pm she saw his head was swollen. She said she noticed two bumps on his head and asked him about it. It was then, she said, that the child related his story. Nicholas said she immediately took him to the Guapo Police Station to make a report and then to the Point Fortin Health Facility. She said the child complained of severe headaches.
“I made a police report and carry him to the health centre, the doctor gave him painkillers. But the next morning he woke up with a high fever,” she said. She said the male teacher is not Omari’s regular teacher, but was substituting for another teacher at the time. Nicholas said her father visited the school on Tuesday and she went in on Wednesday.
“The principal told my father that Omari was being disrespectful to the teacher, but I don’t understand, if he did that why didn’t the teacher take him to the principal or call his parents?” She said she was told to “forget” the incident by officials at the school. “I asked the principal if she reported it to the Education Ministry, she said she will do it but she wants me to forget about it,” Nicholas said.
She said she came to the T&T Guardian because she feels the school officials are covering up a dangerous secret. “How long have they been hiding this teacher’s violent behaviour?” she asked. “I am standing up now so this does not happen to any other child. My child is at least alive, what if he kills the next child who ‘disrespect’ him?”
The Guardian contacted the school via telephone and spoke to a woman who identified herself as the principal. When questioned about whether the incident occurred, the woman replied, “What? You want to write about this in the paper? Ma’am I am asking you not to do this.” When a request was made to speak to the principal, she said, “I am the principal.” Pressed further, she repeated, “My only comment is do not do this, think about everything.”
TTUTA in dark
The T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) was also contacted, but up to Friday president Devanand Sinanan said they had not heard of the incident. Also contacted on the allegation on Friday, Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh declined to comment, saying he was in a conference and unable to address any questions.
However, a source in the ministry, who did not want to be identified, said there was no report of the incident by the school’s principal to the school supervisor 3 for the St Patrick district, which the school falls under, up to last Thursday. The source said once the report is submitted the matter will be investigated and the Teaching Service Commission will have to decide what action is to be taken against the teacher.
An officer at the Guapo station confirmed a report was made last Monday about the incident and said investigations into the matter are continuing.