Time to settle Garcia issue

THE EDITOR: The issue concerning young Derrell Garcia and whether he was a bona fide student of St Benedict’s College when he represented that school in this year’s Secondary School Football Competition needs to be settled once and for all. If this is not done, this situation will continue to arise year after year.

Such an occurrence will leave a dark stain on college football. To all who love football and have the interest of young people at heart, this will be a travesty. The situation also begs the question: Why is this issue taking so long to be resolved when similar matters brought before the league/disciplinary committee have been settled so relatively quickly?

What are the facts? According to the chief education officer of the Ministry of Education:

* In 2021, on the basis of the SEA examination, Garcia was assigned to and duly registered at St Benedict’s.

* Garcia’s mother wrote to the principal of St Benedict’s requesting that her son be granted study leave to pursue a football scholarship in Spain for the period September 2023 to May 2024.

* On August 30, St Benedict’s submitted the name of Derrell Garcia among the list of students to be registered for participation in this year’s SSFL football competition.

* According to the school’s attendance register, which is an official record of the Ministry of Education, Garcia began attending school on October 8, after his mother wrote to the principal in September requesting that her son be registered as a bona fide student at St Benedict’s.

* Meanwhile, Garcia played for St Benedict’s on October 2 against San Juan North Secondary, on October 5, against Fatima College, and on October 7 against St Anthony’s College.

* Garcia played on October 8 and onwards.

It appears that the SSFL is ignoring its own rules which state that in order for a student to participate in the league, that student must be a bona fide student of the school as evidenced by official roll of that school, on whose registration list that student appears.

The rules also state that failure to observe these rules may end in suspension for both student and school and result in the deduction of points.

The above facts answer the following question:

Was Garcia a bona fide student of St Benedict’s College when he represented the school on October 1, 5 and 7? He was not, as evidenced by:

1. The school’s attendance register which records him as beginning school on October 8.

2. His absence from school from September 2023 to May 2024 and the Education Ministry's regulations which require that a student be removed from the attendance register of the school if he has been away from school one or more terms.

3. The letter written by his mother in September 2024 asking that her son be registered as a bona fide student of the school.

Schools have always to remember the hidden curriculum. What values are we teaching our young people? Is winning at all costs the prime objective? We should try to remember that the joy is in the effort rather than the prize.

At the same time, we should exercise the virtue of compassion. This is a young man with a brilliant future ahead of him, so this matter needs to be settled once and for all so that he can focus his energies on playing football.

Here is a suggestion. St Benedict’s College must forfeit the points from the games won when Garcia was not properly a student and therefore not properly registered.

To avoid future occurrences, write in a clause to the SSFL rule which states quite clearly that a student’s registration must be accompanied by a copy of the register showing his attendance at school. (This will be “Derrell’s Clause”).

A last note: For some time now Catholic schools have been embroiled in these types of controversies. I call on Archbishop Jason Gordon to step in and end this, just as Sat Maharaj intervened in the Shiva Boys issue some years ago.

PAULINE ISIDORE

via e-mail