Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw promised “appropriate professional intervention” for the parties in a video making the rounds on social media.
It showed an exchange between a male teacher and a male student in the classroom at a secondary school and Bradshaw said she “shared the outrage” of all who saw it, noting the situation was exacerbated by laughter from the other students.
“First I must point out that while we are only privy to a small part of what could possibly be a longer video, I must say that the type of behavior witnessed is not acceptable. It was neither funny nor demonstrative of who we are as a people, or who we must allow ourselves to be or even to become,” Bradshaw said in a statement.
“Secondly, I commend the firmness of the teacher even though I would have preferred a better choice of language used in engaging with the student.
“Thirdly, I absolutely condemn the tone and the attitude of the student and wish to reaffirm that while this Ministry would always seek to protect the rights of students at all time, so too do we denounce any implicit threats to the well-being of our teachers. Clearly there are behavioral and respect for authority issues exhibited in the video, and I can assure you that the Ministry will ensure that there is appropriate professional intervention to assist all parties involved,” she said in conclusion. (PR/SAT)
