Parents, teacher to appear in court this week – Police

St Agnes Primary School attack

The parents of a primary school student along with the child’s teacher – who was attacked at the school on Thursday last— will be hauled before the court of law this week.

This is according to Commander of Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Sub-Division A (Georgetown), Assistant Police Commissioner Edgar Thomas, who told Guyana Times on Saturday that the teacher made a formal report to a Police station shortly after the incident.
According to the Commander, although footage of the incident went viral on social media, ranks did not rely on the short video as a critical part of their probe. He said that the footage did not capture the beginning or the end of the situation which developed inside of the school on the day of the assault.
However, the Commander stated that statements were retrieved from the parties involved as well as witnesses to the incident and based on those, the file was prepared and sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on the way forward.
Not keen to divulge much information about possible charges that the parties can each face, Commander Thomas was only willing to share the fact that the matter will come up in court this week.
After the video, which showed the parents of a child at kicking the teacher, went viral, there was much public outrage and condemnation of the incident.
As a matter of fact, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has called for all teachers to dress in black and white to school on Monday.
According to the GTU, “this is to indicate to our employers that we are dissatisfied with security arrangements put in place for teachers…By 10:00hrs, all schools must post a picture of staff in their black and white outfits with caption ‘ Parents! Stop the violence against teachers’”.
The brutal attack on the teacher stemmed from an incident between two students who were injured.
Following the attack, GTU President Mark Lyte said that the Union will be taking actions to protect its teachers. Lyte also criticised the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for their inability to properly deal with such incidents.
“The Guyana Police Force has to do better at charging parents and placing them before a court of law. It is due to the reluctance and inability of the GPF to act swift and justly that this has continued. Our teachers are now fearful for their lives. The question is, who is next? The perpetrators of violence against teachers must face the full penalties for their actions. We have demanded that the charges laid against the St Agnes Primary School teacher for defending herself in her place of employment must be dropped immediately,” Lyte stated.