The Ministry of Education would do well to expedite investigations into the latest allegation of corporal punishment being meted out to a pupil by a primary school teacher in south Trinidad. This is because not only is the reason behind the act strange, it is also purportedly a case in which the teacher is a part time member of one arm of the country’s national security services.
The female pupil is alleged to have been beaten in front the class for not seeking the teacher’s permission to use the toilet, despite the fact that he was not in class at the time she left to relieve herself. While not stating the obvious, we find this behaviour, if true, to be completely unacceptable.
Corporal punishment has been outlawed in schools for almost two decades now, a direct spin-off of T&T being a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although there has been constant debate on the merits and demerits of this decision, it remains illegal in the school system.
This latest incident is one of several within recent times in which teachers have been accused of acting irresponsibly towards their pupils. Perhaps it is time for the Ministry of Education and Teaching Service Commission to revisit the teaching code of conduct and become a little more serious on teacher discipline.
Stay calm PanTrinbago
There was more uproar within the pan fraternity on Thursday, after a lawyer representing PanTrinbago executives blocked a planned special convention seeking to plot the way forward in light of a court challenge to a recent meeting at which steelbands sought to oust the Keith Diaz-led hierarchy.
Tempers flared and beer flew as the attorney read out the injunction blocking the meeting, but he took it in good stride and eventually it would seem better sense prevailed and some sort of restructured session was still held. There is undoubtedly a lot of tension within the financially-strapped body and it is perhaps understandable that some steelbands, seeing the current executive as part of the problem, would seek to remove them.However, with an AGM scheduled for later this year anyway, it may not worth it for the fraternity to sink to such depths now.
Congratulations Ahye
We take this opportunity to congratulate sprinter Michelle Lee Ahye on her plan to launch her project, T&T’s Next Top Athlete. While full details have not been released, seeks to give young athletes across the country the exposure and support they need to go to the next level. For this we commend her.
