A FOURTH FORM student of the Canje Secondary School in Berbice may be spared a term of incarceration at the New Opportunity Corps in Essequibo after the Schools Welfare Officer opined that that juvenile centre was not for a child who does not display unacceptable behaviour.

The fourteen-year-old lass of Number Two Village, East Canje Berbice admitted to the charge of wandering before New Amsterdam Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs Marcus. She had been found at a house in Sukhoo Street, Cumberland, East Canje Berbice on January 13 last, and Schools Welfare Officer Ms La Rose said that on arriving at the home, she had observed four males running from the building.

The defendant and her mother had been contacted before the charge was instituted against her.

School records revealed that the teen had attended a mere 28 teaching sessions out of a total of 146. Her mother, a domestic worker, told the court that on the day in question, she left home for work whilst her daughter was preparing for school. About an hour later, she had met her daughter on the roadway, and the girl had reported that she was feeling unwell and was going to the home of an older sibling.

Responding to the magistrate’s questions, the teen said, “I went by my friend Grayson, a boy, after school.”

Ms La Rose said that despite the teen’s mother being warned several times, the child would still attend school irregularly. Probation and Welfare Officer Ms Shalika David reported that the economic needs of the teen are being met by her mother, a domestic helper, and two older siblings. She said the offender, the fifth of ten children, lacks parental guidance and strict supervision.

Nevertheless, the officer opined that the teen needed a second chance, and she suggested counselling sessions for the defendant and her mother.

The case is fixed for hearing on March 31.

(By Jeune Vankeric)