Abused teachers to get support from Ministry; union to pursue criminal charges

The Education Ministry will be assisting two Grade One teachers who were assaulted at their schools to pursue criminal charges against the parents involved.

“The Ministry has taken the position to assist victims in their pursuit of criminal proceedings against perpetrators in instituting the appropriate criminal charges,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

The statement was also attributed to the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU).

The stakeholders in the education sector said they offer full support towards the prosecution of the assailants in the cases.

A Grade One teacher at the St Agnes Primary School was on Wednesday assaulted by two parents in the Head Teacher’s office in the midst of a meeting.

The meeting was held with the parents of two students who were involved in a fight the day before. This incident follows another in November 2019 when a Grade One teacher was assaulted in her classroom at the Winfer Gardens Primary School.

In the joint statement on Thursday, the Education Ministry and the union deemed the assaults as “unfortunate and absolutely abhorrent.”

The Ministry said any criminal act perpetrated by anyone on teachers, students or any member of the Education sector ought to be meted out with the fullest extent of the law.

“First and foremost, at no time and under any circumstances would any form of violence in schools be condoned, especially when our students and teachers are involved,” the statement emphasized.

Investigations are underway and the Ministry said some crucial decision will be taken and instituted in an effort towards ensuring that incidents of this nature would not be repeated.