School sexual abuse allegations…GTU denounces sexual misconduct in school system

Nov 24, 2017 News

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…-says teacher should face full brunt of the law if allegations are true

“We denounce abuse of our students be it sexual or otherwise,” said President of the Guyana Teachers Union [GTU], Mr. Mark Lyte.
He commented on the recently surfaced allegations of sexual abuse levelled against a teacher of The Bishops’ High School.
“We believe if anyone is found guilty of doing that, they should obviously face the full brunt of the law,” said Lyte. He, however, cautioned that commentators and those who have been ascribing definitive actions should allow due process to be realised.
“People need to allow a thorough investigation into this matter…Mr. Coen Jackson, as is anyone else, is innocent until proven guilty. We have to be fair to Mr. Jackson and let the evidence that comes out of an investigation determine whether he is innocent or guilty. To pronounce that the teacher is guilty before the conclusion of an investigation is not the right thing to do,” said Lyte of the state of affairs.
“We have to be cautious how we comment on this matter; this is an allegation being made against a teacher and more so, it alleges that someone has interfered with our girl students who should feel safe in the school environment…They should be able to have a trusting, cordial and respectful relationship with their teachers.”
According to Lyte, “Because of this situation [the publicised allegations] a lot of people have already condemned the teacher at the centre of the allegations, they have condemned the school; they have condemned teachers as a whole, especially male teachers, because of the allegations.”
Coen Jackson, an Economics teacher of The Bishops’ High School, was recently accused of allegedly grooming many female students under his instruction to indulge in sexual relationships with him. It is alleged that Jackson was engaged in such activities since the late 1990s.

He has since retained legal representation and has denied the allegations which are contained in a letter of complaint inked by Advisor on Cultural Policy within the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Ruel Johnson.
Johnson’s letter was sent to the Chief Education Officer [CEO] of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Marcel Hutson, and copied to the Ministries of Social Protection, Public Health, Legal Affairs, Public Protection and Social Cohesion too.
Johnson had also published his letter on Facebook which has since evoked a public outcry from many factions.
But according to Lyte, “The union is of course disappointed that something of this nature would have been ventilated on Social Media. This was not the appropriate avenue because it impacted the lives of many students who have since been berated by the public.”
It was against this background, that senior students of The Bishops’ High yesterday held a forum at their Carmichael Street, Georgetown School where they delivered several presentations. In the audience were members of the school’s Board of Governors, representatives of the GTU and the Parent-Teacher Association.
In attendance was Lyte who said, “They [students] shared how this episode has affected them in several ways. When you listen to the presentations it helped you to realise how much it impacted them, how demoralising the whole situation has been.”
According to Lyte, making a complaint, particularly of matters within the school system has a clear channel which starts with the head teacher and includes the Principal Personnel Officer of the respective district [in this case the Georgetown district].
It is only after the failure on the part of the relevant personnel to take action that the matter is taken to the Ministry of Education. Based on Johnson’s letter he had brought the allegations levelled against Jackson to the attention of the CEO some five months ago.
From all indications the Ministry’s investigation into the matter was recent. Jackson was this past week sent on administrative leave, according to Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, who revealed too that the fate of the head teacher, Ms. Winifred Ellis, is in the hands of the CEO.
Ellis was recorded during a school assembly [after Johnson’s allegations became public] accusing some of the female students of the school of being “slack” and “loose”. But according to Lyte, “the Head teacher is under attack for an address she made which was taken in part and publicised…Now calls are being made for her head too.”
The situation has also caused members of the public to stage protest actions which have called for the termination of both Jackson and Ellis.
According to Lyte, the Union is constitutionally required to represent any of its members upon their request. He said that the head teacher has reached out to the union, even forwarding a letter which revealed that since the start of Jackson’s stint at The Bishops’ High in 2006 there has been no reports of misconduct detailed in his personal file.
“I can’t speak to word of mouth complaints but based on what the HM said there has been no formal complaint lodged against this teacher. We hope that the truth will come out…If the allegations are proven to be true, Mr. Jackson will have to the face the consequences because the union does not support those kinds of behaviour from any of its members,” said Lyte.
“We have never had a cause to represent Jackson pertaining to sexual misconduct or anything else in the past…in fact we have not heard of any complaints against Jackson before this one,” confided Lyte.
Jackson who is an untrained graduate has not sought the representation of the union but has instead retained a battery of lawyers to defend him.

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