– Baksh says episodes not widespread
An eight-year-old Bush Lot, Berbice primary school pupil spent five days in hospital after his head was slammed into a wall several times by older student.
Saeed Baksh was discharged from the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) on Sunday afternoon. Last Wednesday he was attacked by his school mate in an unsupervised class room.
“School closed last Friday,” the boy’s mother Bibi Baksh said. “So because the students finish writing exams it seems as though the teachers are leaving them to do whatever they want.”
At about 11 am that day, Bibi recalled, her son went home with a swollen head and started vomiting shortly after. She immediately rushed him to the Fort Wellington Hospital for treatment. Saeed later told her that a “bigger” student had “willfully” slammed his head into the wall.
“He told me that after it happen other students complained to a teacher and he was taken to the headmistress’ office where they put ice on his head. He was then taken back to the classroom [and] left to sit there for an hour,” Bibi reported.
Later, her husband went to enquire at the school about the incident but was told by the head teacher that they had already dealt with it. A day after the incident Saeed was rushed to the city hospital. Bibi believes that the matter should have been dealt with differently and insists that the school does not have proper safety mechanisms in place to deal with such situations.
“My son is back home now,” Bibi said, “but I am afraid of what might have happened to him if he didn’t come home an hour after the incident.”
Saeed’s parents will be reporting the matter to the Ministry of Education (MoE) today.
There was also another case of student-on-student violence last week. Emmanuel Joseph was rushed to GPH after he was reportedly attacked by a group of students last Friday. He was discharged from the hospital yesterday afternoon. When approached, Joseph’s father declined to speak with this newspaper. Joseph attends a Georgetown secondary school.
“I don’t want any problems,” his father told Stabroek News.
In wake of these incidents, Education Minister Shaik Baksh yesterday said incidents of violence in schools are not widespread and this will be dealt with seriously and promptly.
Baksh made the statement at an open forum ‘Promoting Safe, Acceptable Behaviours and Positive Values in Schools’ at the International Conference Centre, Liliendaal. Head teachers, teachers, parents and various officials were present.
The forum, according to a MoE release issued last evening, is a joint venture between the ministry and UNICEF. It aims to sensitize participants about the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders in promoting safe, acceptable behaviours and positive values in schools; identify and discuss causal factors impacting on the behaviours of students in schools; devise strategies to foster safer schools, acceptable behaviours and instill positive values in students; and develop a system of collaboration between/among stakeholders to strengthen the range of support services available to students and schools.
The release said Baksh stressed that “contrary to media reports, violence in school is not a widespread problem, noting that often the information presented as news is furthest from the truth and is rooted in hearsay rather than solid statistics”. He pointed out that a recent survey conducted in all schools countrywide over a six-month period has indicated that violent behaviour was recorded in 26 schools, with 62 cases and involved 117 students. These figures, Baksh noted, represent less than three per cent of the schools in the country and 0.05 per cent of the total student population.
Several measures have already been implemented in several schools to address this issue. These include the introduction of child-friendly schools in Region Two and the Health and Family Life Education programme. The training of teachers to respond to crisis situations, the strengthening of the School’s Welfare Department along with the placement of officers at selected schools and the mentoring programme are also other measures that have been initiated.
According to the release, Baksh disclosed that under the new education legislation which is still at the Attorney General’s Chambers, provision has been made for the establishment of a Students’ Council. That council, he said will monitor the behaviour of students, report on the conduct and performance of teachers in the classroom, assist head teachers to devise school rules and policies and work with schools in enforcing these guidelines. The legislation also includes a national code of conduct governing the behaviour of teachers and students.
MoE, Baksh also stressed, will not tolerate students who pose a threat to their teachers and fellow students. Expulsion, he said, will be treated as a secondary issue. These students, the minister proposed, should be placed at the Sophia Special School where they will receive proper guidance and counselling to reverse their negative behaviour and become productive citizens in society.
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee was also present at the forum. He stated that his ministry remains committed to eradication of “deviant behaviour in society”.
