Irate parents voiced their disgust on the grounds of Dunrobin Primary School in St Andrew yesterday, following reports of an assault on a grade-six teacher by two men in front of several students.

The parents also called for the school board to improve the security system.

According to reports, approximately 9:45 a.m., two men registered at the security checkpoint, indicating they came to see the teacher, a woman.

Despite being instructed to go to the office, the men reportedly went directly to the class and ordered the students to remain quiet.

After declaring to the teacher, "Wey yuh trouble mi nephew fah?", they pounced on her, beating her severely.

The school was alerted following screams from the students and, on investigation, the teacher was found on the floor of the classroom seriously wounded and bloodied.

The police were called in and the teacher was rushed to hospital where she was treated and released.

Couldn't show disrespect

Several parents soon after turned up to collect their children.

"It upset me to know that the whole of us have kids coming to school here and to come hear that man come beat up a teacher because she chastise a student," lamented one parent. "Me coulda neva do a thing like that, to come disrespect a teacher or anybody that control the education of my child."

Another parent added: "Me vex fi dis. Me can't support a parent to come here and damage a teacher. If my son do something and teacher flog him, him can't come home and say teacher flog him. Me give him one more on it. We have to protect the teachers who giving our children a better education."

The parents were responding to initial reports that the incident occurred after the teacher scolded a student and the student left the classroom to make a call, after which the men showed up.

However, a member of the school board told The Gleaner that their investigation could not confirm the scolding of any child, so it was unclear what led to the attack.

Teachers fearful

Following a closed-door meeting of the school administration, teachers expressed fear about doing their jobs.

"We are very traumatised and disturbed by what happened. Is this really what we have to go through in carrying out our jobs?" one teacher asked.

In condemning the attack, as well as the mob killing of an Old Harbour High School teacher on the weekend, the Ministry of Education stated in a release that "these distasteful trends have indicated that there is an urgent need to bring to the forefront at all levels of society, the issue of behaviour modification".

The ministry appealed to all citizens to regard educators as important assets, who should be honoured and respected by everyone.

"These tendencies of uncontrolled anger need to be addressed, and persons that display such maladaptive behaviour should seek whatever counselling and therapy services that are available in their communities," the release stated.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites also made an appeal to schools to tighten up on security and be extra vigilant. He reminded persons to be conscious and wary of any suspicious activity in their environment.

anastasia.cunningham@gleanerjm.com