Dear Editor,
Thank you for publishing my letter in relation to the abuse of children in a private school. Since the letter was carried, the Child Care and Protection Agency has visited the location to investigate the matter. I must commend them for taking the time to look into the matter, however I wish to recommend an immediate review of the protocols in dealing with issues of this nature.
I wish to encourage a more proactive stance as we look to mitigate the scourge where those in authority inflict pain on our children in the guise of discipline. As a former teacher who participated in the development of guidelines in the early 2000s for the administering of corporal punishment in schools by headteachers, I am aware that there are systems to prevent excesses. These guidelines, Editor, are not a reason for headteachers to abuse our children.
There must be clear protocols in dealing with the public when matters of this nature are brought to the agencies that seek to protect our children against being violated. We must change the mentality of reacting when something happens and have more preventative measures in place. We must not wait until something happens, then attempt to fix it. We must constantly test our systems to see where there may be gaps and fix those gaps before they are too big to handle.
As Guyanese we have a responsibility to protect all our children; this is not just a matter for the agencies but for all of us as citizens.
Yours faithfully,
Michael Mc Garrell
