Tabaquite student in need of help

A Form Five student attending Tabaquite Secondary School who was suspended for walking into a classroom and hitting another student is now terrorising teachers and students at the school.

President of the TT Unified Teachers Association Lynsley Doodhai is calling on Ministry of Education social workers to intervene.

Doodhai yesterday said two teachers claimed the student threatened them and they were given time off to make a formal report at the Brasso Seco Police Station. When the student was suspended, he said, his parents never went to the school to collect the suspension letter, and the child was debarred from entering the school, but has continued to enter by climbing over the fence.

“He is constantly roaming the school during the course of the day. I understand at some point in time the student seen walking around the school in his underwear only.”

Doodhai said a representative from the school asked him for help.

“On Tuesday I spoke with the Commission of Police Mr Gary Griffith and asked for some assistance with respect to the police going to the school and accompanying school officials to the parents to serve the suspension notice and for the removal of the student from the school.”

But Doodhai said this was done last Friday, but the boy refused to leave the school. He said the boy is harassing teachers and disrupting the education of hundreds of students and the matter needs to be addressed.

“This is totally unacceptable. This student must be dealt with.

"I am not saying to incarcerate the student, but clearly he is in need of help. Clearly, from what I am seeing and hearing, the parents are not in the picture. I think somehow we need to engage our social workers to look into the welfare of this child. Clearly all is not right with this child. He is prone to violent tendencies and he is not respecting the authority of the school.