Alleged abusive teacher goes missing
Published:Tuesday | May 11, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Gary Spaulding, Gleaner Writer
The female teacher accused of abusing a 14-year-old girl last Thursday at the Braeton Primary and Junior High School in Portmore, St Catherine, is nowhere to be found.
The teacher, who was absent from school last Friday, failed to show for a meeting yesterday.
Principal of the institution, Fitz Jackson, told meeting that he had not been able to contact her by telephone.
Representatives of the Ministry of Education and school administrators summoned the parents to a meeting at the school yesterday, following last Thursday's high drama in which the child emerged with scratches to the neck.
She was reportedly choked and called a whore several times.
The Gleaner sought to contact Jackson for a comment on the meeting, but was told that he was locked in other meetings for most of the day.
Ministry commended
However, the parents emerged from the discussion seemingly appeased.
"I must commend the ministry and the school for the way they dealt with the matter," declared the student's father. "Everyone came out quite satisfied."
He said a student, chosen randomly from the language arts class, as well as a teacher, gave evidence at the meeting.
The record of the 14-year-old was also presented at the meeting.
The parent expressed satisfaction that the record was clean.
The 14-year-old student had complained that the teacher used a metal pole to hit to the floor a sealed bottle of drink she had on her desk before chasing her out of the classroom.
The student said she was subsequently called a whore repeatedly, which precipitated an angry exchange between the two.
The report is that the angry teacher then pursued the student to a staffroom.
The 14-year-old said she was held in a stranglehold and her head was hit repeatedly against a desk.
The father of the 14-year-old said a new dimension was revealed at yesterday's meeting when administrators were informed that the child had been threatened.
The threat
The offending teacher reportedly said words to the effect, "Nuh mek me catch yuh on the road!"
The parent told The Gleaner that he was relieved by the assurances conveyed by both ministry and school officials that a strong message would be sent.
The student's father said ministry officials who attended the meeting told him that he was free to pursue legal action against the accused teacher.
However, he said that was not his intention.
"They were quite accommodating and I am quite satisfied with that," he said.