Bartica teacher sent on leave for allegedly assaulting student over white socks

Oct 20, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – A male teacher attached to the Bartica Secondary School, Region Seven was sent on administrative leave this week after a video surfaced on social media showing him assaulting a student over the colour of his socks, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand disclosed.

Screen grab from the video in which teacher could be seen confronting the child at the Bartica Secondary School.

The video, which went viral on Wednesday, showed the confrontation in a classroom where other students were present at the time. The issue arose after the male student wore white socks to school which is not in keeping with the school’s dress code. The dress code is that female students wear white socks while male students wear black.

The 23-second video showed the teacher aggressively pushing the student down into his seat before pointing a T-square in his face. “I getting serious with you. Yuh wasting meh time hey, take off the socks,” the teacher was heard saying in the video before he began to hit the student with the T-square.

The student then attempted to get up from his seat but was pushed down to his seat twice by the teacher. The teacher then grabbed hold of the student’s left foot in an attempt to get the student’s footwear off, but he eventually pushed the child again which caused him to fall on the floor.

After falling to the floor, the teacher then proceeded to take off the child’s boots in an aggressive manner before removing the white socks.

In response to the video, the Minister of Education shared on her Facebook page on Thursday that, “I am aware of the video of the teacher beating and toppling the child off his feet from the Bartica Secondary School.” She revealed that following the incident, an investigation was launched and she promised that it will be thorough and fair. “In the meantime, the teacher is off the plant as he had been sent on administrative leave,” she stated.

In her post, the minister went on to state that generally; there are very specific rules on how and why discipline in the form of strokes can be administered. The purpose of those rules is to avoid excesses and abuse of children, and that they must be followed, she mentioned. “I also believe the time is ripe now for us to have a look again at whether we want to continue to allow corporal punishment in schools. And if we do what the possible options can be for parents. As a parent, I would like to opt out of having my children whipped. I must be allowed that,” the minister commented.

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assaulting, Bartica, Student, Teacher, white socks

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