Can’t understand why principal was suspended

THE EDITOR: The decision by the High Court to compel the Minister of Education to reinstate Sookoo Sonnylal as principal of the Siparia West Secondary School speaks volumes about the incompetence of the people in charge of our education system.

It is incomprehensible to me how and why Sonnylal was suspended.

I want to know how much money the State has to pay in legal fees because of the decision by the minister. Maybe he should reimburse the State from his own pocket.

There were several videos coming out of the school. One showed a student with a pipe in his hand chasing another student.

A subsequent video showed Sonnylal holding that same pipe after confiscating it from the student. This video was much more disturbing because it also showed several students surrounding the principal as if they were going to attack him up.

There was clearly no respect for the authority of the principal by these students. It is to his credit that he stood his ground. There was also a verbal exchange between the students and principal.

It was because of this confrontation that the minister made the decision to suspend, not the students, but the principal. Subsequently, we had “big people” in society praising the decision of the minister. Really? Are we serious about the future of our children?

Back in the day, it was unheard of for a principal to be suspended because of the indiscipline of students. No one dared put God out of their thoughts to disrespect a teacher, far less a principal.

Many teachers tell me that once the bell rings for lunch, they vacate the premises. Their reason is simple. If students were to get involved in an altercation during lunchtime and a teacher intervenes, there is the distinct possibility that the teacher could lose his or her job.

This could have been the case with the school safety officer who, in 2016, separated two boys from fighting by giving them a “clout” each. The video only came out recently. The president of the National Parent-Teacher Association, Zena Ramatali, was all in the media decrying the method used by the officer. I wonder if that person still has a job today? Or whether he will have to end up in court like Sonnylal. Of course, no plausible alternative was proffered by Ramatali.

It is time to take back our schools from the children. Maybe, someone should ask Sat Maharaj what is his model for managing his schools.

LINUS F DIDIER, Mt Hope