Mother of girl who was beaten not happy with boy’s punishment

by Bria King

The mother of a child who was slapped repeatedly at school by one of her schoolmates is not satisfied with the way the situation was handled.

Two videos surfaced on social media on May 30, showing a boy and girl in a classroom with other pupils. The girl attempted to hit the boy and he responded by advancing on her, while swinging his arms and hitting her on either side of her head.

At the end of the videos, he delivered a final blow to the girl in her face.

Both videos were of the same incident, but filmed from different angles and some students in the room could be heard laughing in the background.

“I feel very disturbed about it. I get headache for how much days, I can’t sleep for how much days and nights,” she told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday.

The mother said her daughter told her that the boy saw her sucking her finger and “tell her if she ain’t weary suck her finger, if she love to suck and then kick her. Then she kicked him back, then he hold her head down on the stage and when she get back up to hit him, that’s when he start to give her the lash them in her face”.

She said this is the first time that anything like this has happened to her daughter and she is not sure why, because while both children involved are in Grade 6, they are not in the same section.
Since the incident, the mother said that she has been involved in a series of meetings at the school with the boy’s parents. The police and the Ministry of Education were also called in as a result of the incident.

She revealed that the boy was given a 10-day suspension and will not be allowed to graduate.

“That ain’t sufficient. That is what the school decided, but that ain’t sufficient,” the mother told SEARCHLIGHT. But when asked what she thought should have been done, she responded; “ I can’t even say.”

While no one has teased her daughter about the incident, the upset mother said persons have approached her 11-year-old to ask if she was the girl in the video.

And the girl has had to receive counselling so she can be able to deal with those instances.

She added that the Grade 6 pupil’s face was swollen after the incident and she has been complaining about having headaches.

“Up to now, I ain’t even know who the boy be. They didn’t bring him, I haven’t seen him…” the mother told SEARCHLIGHT. “I can’t even watch the video to tell you if I see him that I would know it’s him. I been feel very disturbed about it because if I did see the boy, he would’ve get it back. And I think I would’ve feel satisfied, me and my father would’ve feel satisfied if we did do the boy something back. I’m telling you the honest truth. But you see, you can’t go that way… so you have to go the legal way.”

The school where the incident took place has been identified as the Kingstown Preparatory School.

Principal, Susan Abraham told SEARCHLIGHT that she could not comment on the matter.

But she said that violence is not tolerated at school and she referred to the Education Act, where there are strict guidelines as to how matters such as this one should be dealt with.

In instances of major offences, the Education Act (2002) says that principals may suspend a student from school for a period not exceeding 10 school days.

Major offences listed in the Act include “gross misconduct which constitute a risk or danger to members of staff or other students” and “assaulting the principal, a member of staff or other employee of the school, or a student or any other person lawfully present in the school”.