Garcia: Report due on Monday

Speaking in the House of Representatives, Garcia said, “It has not yet been determined that the injuries suffered by this student are as a result of bullying.” He continued, “We have in our possession the report of the principal, who indicated to us there were two Standard One students who were at play.” Garcia added, “We have asked the line supervisor to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and report to the Ministry of Education by Monday.” He explained that the Education Act, “gives the responsibility to principals and teachers that they must preserve the safety of children.” “If these rules are disregarded, then there are certain measures which must be taken,” Garcia said. Dismissing claims from Princes Town MP Barry Padarath that it would take “the death of a child” before any action is taken on bullying, Garcia reiterated, “We have adequate measures in place to deal with any infraction of discipline.” Earlier in the sitting, Al-Rawi said Government is currently engaged in the, “exercise of the proclamation of the package of amendments that we did to the Children and Family Division Bill.” He said part of those amendments, “intersects with this issue, in particular the matter of children beyond control and other aspects.” Al-Rawi stated, “ I will introduce it immediately to the LRC’s (Legislative Review Committee) table on Monday.

We will treat this with alacrity.” He said the Education Act provides some relief as far as suspension and explusion go. However Al-Rawi said that law does not go as far as dealing with parental responsibility. Identifying several laws which deal with different aspects of parental responsibility, Al-Rawi said, “The issue of parental responsibility is a rather complicated one.” However he underscored Government commitment to look at this issue and find the “best fit” for it. On a separate issue, Garcia said reports that 14 special needs schools were facing imminent closure and government funding for those schools had been cut