Scorpio
11-27-2007, 10:21 AM
I wonder if the nation's future in these children's bookbags ??? :shock:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161241690 (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161241690)
Teachers flee as pupil 'war' erupts in school
TEACHERS at a Princes Town secondary school had to flee for their lives yesterday, when fight erupted among several gangs on the school compound.
"Hundreds of students started pelting objects, hitting, cuffing and pounding on each other and even on teachers who tried to intervene," a reliable source told the Express.
The incident occurred at the Princes Town Junior Secondary School, which has about 900 pupils and 30 teachers.
A member of staff, who spoke on anonymity, said: "It started with a few pupils and everybody's friends and partner jumped in the fray without even knowing what was going on. They were cussing and pelting stones and just rioting," the staff member said.
The mayhem started around 10 a.m. and lasted for about an hour.
The spokesman told the Express: "Just think of 900 students running around pelting stones, bags and anything they could find, screaming and fighting. It was riot, with every and anyone getting licks. Those students just went wild."
He added that "even a teacher who tried to intervene to stop the fight when it started, with two students of two different gangs, got some licks. No other teacher dared to get involved. Everyone secured his and her own safety, leaving the children to their actions".
While some teachers preferred to stay in their classrooms in the upstairs departments, others who had come out to stop the fight had to escape for safety in their vehicles, the Express understands.
The principal and vice principal were said to be at a function with the Ministry of Education at the Learning Resources Centre in Couva yesterday. On advice from someone in higher authority, the next member of staff in charge dismissed school, citing the absence of teachers on the compound.
Teachers are upset, however, because they claim "nobody cared about our safety, when the riot started. Why should we risk our lives? We feel sorry for the innocent ones, but what can we do? It's a problem for the ministry. This did not start today, it's going on almost everyday".
Three MTS security guards and one retired police officer employed as a safety officer refused to act to stop the fights. The staff member said: "The three guards ran into the group of pupils when the fight started, but they ran out just as fast. The safety officer refused to act."
When the fight started yesterday, some people "were frantically trying to get to E999", but got no response.
The teacher's representative at the school has called a staff meeting this morning to discuss the incident.
The Ministry of Education was not aware of the problem yesterday. The Express understands that TTUTA was aware of the incident, but new president Roustan Job could not be reached for comment
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161241690 (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161241690)
Teachers flee as pupil 'war' erupts in school
TEACHERS at a Princes Town secondary school had to flee for their lives yesterday, when fight erupted among several gangs on the school compound.
"Hundreds of students started pelting objects, hitting, cuffing and pounding on each other and even on teachers who tried to intervene," a reliable source told the Express.
The incident occurred at the Princes Town Junior Secondary School, which has about 900 pupils and 30 teachers.
A member of staff, who spoke on anonymity, said: "It started with a few pupils and everybody's friends and partner jumped in the fray without even knowing what was going on. They were cussing and pelting stones and just rioting," the staff member said.
The mayhem started around 10 a.m. and lasted for about an hour.
The spokesman told the Express: "Just think of 900 students running around pelting stones, bags and anything they could find, screaming and fighting. It was riot, with every and anyone getting licks. Those students just went wild."
He added that "even a teacher who tried to intervene to stop the fight when it started, with two students of two different gangs, got some licks. No other teacher dared to get involved. Everyone secured his and her own safety, leaving the children to their actions".
While some teachers preferred to stay in their classrooms in the upstairs departments, others who had come out to stop the fight had to escape for safety in their vehicles, the Express understands.
The principal and vice principal were said to be at a function with the Ministry of Education at the Learning Resources Centre in Couva yesterday. On advice from someone in higher authority, the next member of staff in charge dismissed school, citing the absence of teachers on the compound.
Teachers are upset, however, because they claim "nobody cared about our safety, when the riot started. Why should we risk our lives? We feel sorry for the innocent ones, but what can we do? It's a problem for the ministry. This did not start today, it's going on almost everyday".
Three MTS security guards and one retired police officer employed as a safety officer refused to act to stop the fights. The staff member said: "The three guards ran into the group of pupils when the fight started, but they ran out just as fast. The safety officer refused to act."
When the fight started yesterday, some people "were frantically trying to get to E999", but got no response.
The teacher's representative at the school has called a staff meeting this morning to discuss the incident.
The Ministry of Education was not aware of the problem yesterday. The Express understands that TTUTA was aware of the incident, but new president Roustan Job could not be reached for comment