8-Year-Old Student Alleges Assault by Teacher
Corporal punished has been banned from schools for more than a decade. In 2017, Minister of Education Patrick Faber told the media that corporal punishment in schools will not be allowed. Minister Faber also said that “if at the end of the day it is found that in fact corporal punishment was utilized by a teacher on a student, that as I said will not be tolerated and the ministry will move on that.” Well, it seems that a teacher at Queens Square Anglican School did not get the memo and the Education Department has not yet taken action. Eight-year-old Anthony Adolphus says that his teacher hit him in the eye with a ruler. The incident reportedly happened more than a month ago, on January sixteenth. His mother, Crlida Lamb, is furious because she says that the school has been giving her the run-around as she attempts to seek the school’s explanation. The young student says that the female teacher hit him for no good reason. Lamb considered this an assault on her son and has reported the matter to the police, but they too are yet to act. Frustrated that she is not getting any answers, Lamb along with Anthony visited our studious to share her concerns.
Anthony Adolphus
Anthony Adolphus, Eight Years Old
“She got a phone call and then she just went out of the classroom then afterwards she came back in and she just run and got a ruler and whap me in my eye.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Do you know why she hit you in your eye?”
Anthony Adolphus
“No sir.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Did she tell you anything before she hit you in your eye?”
Anthony Adolphus
“No sir.”
Hipolito Novelo
“What happened after she hit you?”
Anthony Adolphus
“She told me to go wipe my eye, wash my face. I was holding my eye because my eye was hurting me then I started to drop off from the chair.”
Hipolito Novelo
“And this happened inside the classroom with all of the students?”
Anthony Adolphus
“Yes sir. And then the lock up the door.”
Celida Lamb
Celida Lamb, Mother
“I went to Education Department; they saw his hand and his eye. They took pictures. They took note of him.”
Hipolito Novelo
“Did they promise to do something about it?”
Celida Lamb
“They never promising to do anything. I went back there again. I went to the police too because I wanted to know who hit my child. They did not want to tell me. I don’t know her. So I went to the police and I reported to the police. The police went there and investigate and when they went there they said it was school protocol. They cannot arrest her because it is school protocol and they cannot arrest her on school grounds. You can’t just go there and arrest the teacher.”
Hipolito Novelo
“So the school has the policy that they can punish the child physically?”
Celida Lamb
“No. Patrick Faber said that no corporal punishment so why would she hit my child and beat him like that?”
Hipolito Novelo
“Do you think it is something personal?”
Celida Lamb
“I don’t know. That is what I want to find out because I don’t know her and she said, ‘bring your ma’. When I went there she did not face me. It was the principal who came and faced me. She hid. This was not called for. He is not a troublesome child. He is not a child that would disrespect anyone.”
We contacted the school for comment and the principal directed us to the General Manager, Alana Gillett. Gillett told News Five that the school will not provide a comment and that the management is doing what is expected from them according to the education rules.
