Primary school student attacked by classmate

A routine Friday afternoon quickly became terrifying for a nine-year-old student at Eccles Primary School, East Bank Demerara after she was strangled by her classmate, and left to endure the pain, without any efforts to contact her family.
The student, who is said to be among the high flyers of her class, was at the time preparing for an event when she was approached by a male classmate who reportedly removed her ribbon and then went on to strangle the nine-year-old with it.
Witnessing the struggle, another child intercepted the attack and managed to release the student from the grip. The nine-year-old is now left nursing a scar across her neck, but had it not been for the intervention of her peer, the vicious attack could have resulted in her death.
On Monday a social media post of the child’s injury quickly went viral after an enraged family member of the injured girl took to Facebook to express her grievance over the matter, and more so the way in which it was handled by the school’s administration.
The furious young woman, who is the older cousin of the injured student, indicated in her Facebook post that the school failed to inform her family of the incident. However, when the mother arrived at the school at around 15:00h that afternoon, she was greeted by her injured child, who was complaining of severe pain due to the injuries to her neck.
It was then that the mother approached the teacher, only to have her complaint brushed off, leaving her with no satisfaction. Nevertheless, the distressed parent persisted with her questions, which reportedly infuriated the teacher, and she threatened to have the parent removed from the school’s compound.
The family is yet to be offered an explanation as to what exactly had transpired. However, the school’s administration did promise that the Welfare Department of the Ministry of Education would be notified. Meanwhile, the matter intensified when the relatives of the implicated school boy became involved in the inquiries. Reports are that loved ones of the injured 9-year-old were treated to a series of racial insults. Moreover, the defensive relatives even threatened those representing the battered girl.
Meanwhile, the cousin, in her social media outburst, questioned the intentions of the school’s administration in concealing the matter. In doing so, she noted, “Guess she would have had to die for someone at that school to see it fit to call her mother. I wonder what action would they have been able to take had she died, and who would have been responsible then?”
Eventually, after much public condemnation, the school’s administration reached out to the family of the now traumatized nine-year-old. In a meeting with the Head Teacher, the child’s parents were reassured that the Welfare Department would address the matter. The implicated child continues to attend school as per normal.
When Guyana Times contacted the Welfare Department at the Education Ministry in relation to the attack, this newspaper was informed by officials that they are unaware whether a report was filed. However the officers did indicate that only their superiors will be able to release such information.
All the while, hundreds of persons have been sharing and commenting on the Facebook posts, urging relatives to pursue legal action. Moreover, they are calling for the administration of the Eccles Primary School to be investigated as well.