No permanent welfare/guidance counselor present at Mahdia dorm-COI Report.

Jan 25, 2024 News

– societal issues plagued female students

Kaieteur News – The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report into last May’s fire at the Mahdia Secondary School female dormitory, has highlighted that there was no welfare officer or guidance counselor attached to the facility at the time to provide emotional support and advice to the students.

“There was no welfare officer or guidance counsellor attached to the dormitory. It was only in 2023 that an off-region Welfare Officer was attached to the region. The development of deviant behavior patterns was at the center of the events leading up to the fire,” the report stated.

According to the report, the house supervisor, the Deputy Headmistress, the students, and their parents had highlighted to the Commission that there were many social and cultural issues plaguing the facility.

“The temptations of a town coupled with the irresponsible unlawful conduct of adult men, including some from their own villages, resulted in some female students being involved in sexual intercourse and the use of drugs and alcohol – including marijuana and vape,” the report noted.

These practices led to the breach by the students of the dormitory rules of keeping cellular phones in their possession and using them to make contact with adult males. Such activities risked the safety and welfare of other students and eventually contributed to the tragedy of 21st May, 2023.

As a result of the numerous issues regarding the students, the installation and maintenance of grills was deemed necessary to “prevent intruders from entering the building and the students from unauthorized departure from the dormitory.”

The Commission was also informed of certain ‘pull factors’ such as the lure of money, which resulted in the grooming of female students, and the complicit involvement of some family members in channeling funds and gifts including cellular phones to some female students.

The report found that there was substantial tension between dorm and village life in terms of the regulations, norms and rules governing the two. Students being relocated from communities, along with the absence of a permanent guidance counsellor or welfare officer attached to the dorm aggravated a situation that was already challenging for students as well as the house supervisor.

“We also found that the house supervisors were not formally trained for their tasks, and certainly not trained to provide counselling and psychological support to the students who were at a vulnerable stage of their development and in dire need of this type of support.”

The Commission also found that due to the amount of students under the house supervisor’s care she was unable to provide effective supervision and proper care, since the students outnumbered what ways available this posed a problem.

According to reports, around 23:00 hours on Sunday, May 21, 2023, fire gutted the Female dormitory at the school. The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) reported that the point of origin of the fire was in the south-western interior of the building, in the lavatory area. The Guyana Police Force (GPF) alleged that the fire was reportedly maliciously set by the teen suspect, who was aggrieved over her phone being confiscated by the dorm mother and a teacher.

At the time of the fire, there were 57 female students in the dormitory which is a one-flat concrete building measuring about 100 feet by 40 feet, with 26 heavily-grilled windows and five doors that were padlocked.

A 15-year-old girl is currently before the court, facing 20 murder charges for the deaths of the children.

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