Personnel committee at St James High to investigate expulsion of students over kiss
Published:Friday | April 26, 2024 | 10:18 AM
The board of management of St James High School has referred the matter of the expulsion of two schoolgirls who were seen kissing in a video to its personnel committee for deliberation on the next steps to be taken.
The school's principal Joseph Williams has faced heavy public criticism over his decision to expel the teen girls.
READ: 'Mi nuh want dem ya nastiness inna my school'
In a brief update this morning, board chairman Christopher McCurdy told The Gleaner that the personnel committee, which was tasked with investigating the issue further following a meeting on Thursday evening, should present its recommendation to the board within days.
“We had a meeting as was disclosed to the press, a meeting to refer the matter to the personnel committee, and that was done yesterday [Thursday]. If a matter is referred to the personnel committee, it is referred to the personnel committee for an investigation, and it is after an investigation and a report to the full board that a decision can be taken. It should be in a matter of days,” said McCurdy.
It is understood that Thursday's meeting was held online.
The issue of the students' expulsion, which reportedly took place on January 16 this year, came to the fore when the mother of one of the girls accused the school's principal of being heavy-handed in expelling her 16-year-old daughter over a perceived lapse in judgement.
The child has since been enrolled at a private institution.
The other girl, 15, has not been enrolled in any other institution since her expulsion.
Advocacy group Jamaicans for Justice has blasted both the school's management and the Ministry of Education for their handling of the matter, in light of reports that despite appeals from the parents of the girls, the issue only got attention after it was highlighted in The Sunday Gleaner on April 21, months after the expulsion took place.
- Christopher Thomas
Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.