A teacher attached to the Institute of Business Education (IBE) on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) is counting his lucky stars after he was viciously assaulted by an irate parent holding a metal pipe on Saturday morning.

Science teacher Jamain Hatton told the Guyana Chronicle that he teaches science on Fridays and Saturdays at the school which is located at Lusignan on the ECD. He said he was on the way there on Saturday morning when the parent launched the attack.

Hatton said the incident stemmed from an upbraiding he gave to a Fifth Form student about his behaviour the day before.

He explained that on Friday that the student was in his class, while a student in a lower class was being dealt with by the school’s administrators for dressing inappropriately. He said that the lower class student passed a belt, which he was admonished for, to the Fifth Form student for him to keep. While the lower class student was leaving the school to fix his clothing, the Fifth Form student who collected the belt was called to the school’s office about his behaviour. He noted that the young man has issues with his temper and would be cautioned multiple times by the school.

Hatton noted that he told the student that he should change his attitude. “I don’t know what he went and told his parents or his father but the car was parked along the Lusignan Public Road, so he came with an intention,” he said of the parent’s attack on Saturday. The incident occurred around 08:40hrs.

“The incident really could have resulted in the loss of my life”, Hatton said, as he noted that he never saw the parent before. He said the man menacingly approached and asked “wha is you problem with my son?”

He said he told the man that the road was not the place to address the issue.

But this angered the man some more. The man was about to punch him but he moved out of the way and he noted that the man ran to his car, a move which terrified him.

He said the man pulled out two metal pipes but one was stuck under his seat.The man took the smaller of the pipes and hit him on his neck and during the tussle his spectacles fell to the ground and broke.

Hatton said the man then jumped into his car and drove away. The teacher noted that he obtained a medical which indicated that there was swelling around his neck. Ranks at the Vigilance Police Station are investigating the incident.

Hatton said this was not the first time he had such an experience as he noted that a few years back a parent attempted to stab him. He has decided to quit the teaching profession.