ON March 5, 2010, the headmaster of Skeldon Line Path Secondary School brutalised my 12-year-old son, a student of Form 1-B because himself and two boys were bouncing a ball in class, which subsequently hit a student.
This incident occurred during the Agriculture Science period. The students had finished copying the notes from the chalkboard and the teacher stood by the door looking out. As the students were unoccupied and unsupervised, my son and two boys bounced a soft ball. The ball accidentally hit a student on the back. The teacher was alerted and he immediately directed the problem to the headmaster who assembled all the students from Forms 1-B, C and D on the corridor to witness the corporal punishment. He placed a bench at the centre and each boy stood one after the other on it to receive lashes with a long fat whip on their buttocks.
Today, March 10, is the seventh day and the scars on my child’s hand and buttocks are still visible and painful. My son suffered the worst and had to seek medical attention from the Skeldon Hospital where he received tablets and ointment.
I reported the matter to the Springlands Police Station the same afternoon and had to wait there until 19:30 hours. While waiting the Officer in Charge informed me that the headmaster already told him about the issue and it is a matter for the Ministry of Education to address. However, as I was leaving, the Officer apparently saw the visible scar and the swelling on my child’s hand and decided that they would take a report from me and issued medical form.
The next day I telephoned the Department of Education and an officer who informed me that my child was punished because he had no right to play in class.
Last Monday, a Welfare Officer in the Secondary Division smilingly said that the scar on my child’s skin is visible because he is fair in complexion.
It is apparent that no satisfaction is forthcoming. Therefore, I am pleading with the relevant authorities to intervene. No child deserves to be brutalised. Teachers are supposed to be caregivers and they should treat our children with love and respect. This could have been anybody’s child suffering at the hands of a heartless teacher.