Home Letters Alleged sexual assault perpetrators at St Joseph High should be severely punished...
Dear Editor,
I notice that the Education Ministry is probing allegations of sexual assault at St Joseph High, where it has been mentioned that six boys had sexually assaulted two boys, and that homosexual slurs were hurled at them.
Based on what has been reported, the school should ensure these offending students face the full brunt of the law, in order to send a strong message across our schools in Guyana that such behaviour will not be tolerated. Make them clear examples of what would happen when such acts are committed.
The alleged perpetrators were said to be laughing when investigations were being conducted, and this shows arrogance and a lack of remorse. It should not matter that their parents are donors to the school, they should be punished; and the public is watching how this is handled.
No child attending school should have to go through such a traumatic experience. A school should be a refuge of safety and security; safety is the number one priority of a school. When parents send their children to any school, they expect that school to be a nurturing place, and that the administration of that schoolhas teachers on duty to monitor the bathrooms and other areas of the campus in order to ensure student safety and security.
Teachers in American schools are on duty roster for different tasks, in order to ensure students are always supervised. Teachers stand in hallways outside of their doors, monitoring students during breaks and lunch time, and at arrival and dismissal time. The Education Ministry and schools’ administrations must implement such a system of monitoring, in order to keep all students safe.
Monitoring duties are part of a teacher’s duties, and fall under “any other such duties assigned by the administrators and supervisors.” The Teachers Union is smart enough to support such a measure, which is intended to maintain safety in schools.
I have a relative who has said that, at his school, bigger students block younger students from going into the toilet, unless they pay a toll of $100 or $200. His parents wanted to remove him from that school.
I know schools do have anti-bullying programmes; these must be well implemented, and have proper sanctions for wrongdoers. We must now add a duty schedule of teachers being assigned monitoring duties to keep school campuses safe and clean.
Schools must consider installing security cameras and intercom systems around campuses in order to allow for quick and effective communication. All new schools should have cameras and intercom systems, while existing schools that don’t have these amenities should be so retrofitted.
Sincerely,
Dr Jerry Jailall
