Students from several schools voting to elect new student council eadership at an education expo at the Girls' Guides headquarters in St. Andrew, yesterday. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WESTERN BUREAU:
PRESIDENT-ELECT of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) Ruel Reid wants teachers who come under attack from violent parents and children to seek redress in the courts.
"The JTA will take the initiative to file civil suits against parents, the (school) boards, the Ministry of Education (with) the Attorney-General on behalf of the teachers," said Mr. Reid. He was addressing teachers at the Kingston Book Shop Teachers' Day luncheon in Montego Bay on Monday. "This trend must discontinue and we are not going to tolerate this."
There has been a spate of 'disrespectful acts' towards teachers in recent times, he argued, pointing to one incident in which a teacher's arm was broken during an altercation with a guardian for having disciplined a six-year-old child.
"The teacher fell down the stairs and broke her hand the teacher had to find the money to pay for her medical. It can't work that way madam minister," said Mr. Reid. He reminded the Government that the JTA was keeping an eye on how the ministry deals with the issues as they affect the nation's teachers.
"The JTA is watching what has been happening to our teachers being attacked sometimes by students," he said. "The ministry says that they can't find the money to secure the safety of teachers but let me warn them that I have already indicated to my officers that we are going to have a test case (in court)."
