She was suspended along with three girls who attacked her, but the social workers say the suspension was the wrong approach and that the child instead needs counselling.

The social workers say the teen is a victim and instead of being treated as such, was subjected to disciplinary action.

Some of the upset workers visited Newsday yesterday to voice their disgust at the treatment of the child and to question the usefulness of a visit to the school yesteray by Education Minister, Anthony Garcia.

“You don’t suspend a child after being a victim of a public beating, so that child can be humiliated.

She would experience whatever trauma she would have experienced from the situation and by suspending her, you place additional trauma on her. So who is really protecting the victim in this situation,” a social worker asekd.

Referring to the extent of the beating, one of the social workers who visited Newsday said the child might be in more urgent need of medical and psychological support, not a suspension.

The workers who spoke with Newsday said that of the 133 social workers employed by the Ministry, the bulk have had their expired contracts not renewed while others have had their three year contracts narrowed down to three months.

The official who spoke with Newsday said that Social Workers are the ones who treat with school violence.

“So when there is an issue at the school regarding children, we are the ones who will go in and do the investigation, we are the ones that will speak to the parents, see if the child needs additional help, we are the ones who will refer them to whatever agency.

“We are the ones that do the crisis intervention,” the social worker said.

She added that there is already a huge shortage of social workers in the nation’s schools and it is very undignified to place them on contract and then not pay them at the end of the month but in the middle of the following month. They are calling on Minister Garcia to intervene.

He spoke at a news briefing at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Port-of-Spain, also attended by St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar and Naparima MP Rodney Charles.

The Trial by Judge Alone Bill amends the Offences Against the Person (OAP) Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. However, Ramdeen yesterday stuck to his senatorial guns to insist that the law courts had hit the OAP Act’s Section 4(A) (6) as unconstitutional and had completely struck down Section 4(A)(7). “You can’t bring legislation to Parliament that the court has struck down,” he said. (The cases were Gilbert Evelyn, 2007 and Mukesh Maharaj, 2009).

While welcoming Attorney General (AG) Faris Al Rawi’s reported statement that the OAP Act should have been amended to omit the sections rejected by the court, Ramdeen said the AG erred to say the Law Revision Commission should make these changes, as Ramdeen said this is done only by Parliament at the AG’s request.

Saying 1,000 inmates are on murder charges, he said the current disposal rate of 19 capital trials a year means it will take 50 years to try all capital charge inmates, as such cases are excluded from the new Bill on preliminary inquiries. Ramdeen also accused the Government of jumping on the bandwagon in signalling support for hanging, in contrast with the former opposition PNM’s rejection of the former PP government’s Bill on hanging.

He alleged that the removal of preliminary inquiry, trial by jury and magistrates, and addition of plea-bargaining could “create a track for agouti to run,” benefitting the Government’s friends.

Ramadhar asked if it is the AG’s intent to fully remove jury trial in place of judge trial, saying the former is a guarantor of the rights of the “small man,” while the latter can act to protect the interest of elites.

Recalling the AG saying the Bill expands an accused’s choice to opt for either jury or judge trial, Ramadhar wondered if this was merely pretty language used to disguise an intent to abolish jury trial.

Charles said while the Opposition is okay with replacing a pre-trial process with a paper committal, its concern is that vesting the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with a magistrate’s power – to determine if to go to trial or not __ may violate the idea of separation of powers and so be open to a legal challenge.

He also wondered how to improve the detection rate, and how to have speedier trials by having more judges and more courts.

De Silva made the comments as he delivered remarks at the Carnival 2017 Award Ceremony on Sunday evening at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

However, he said the NCC would look forward to a better Carnival 2018, observing that “one swallow doesn’t make a summer although it was a big blotch on the Carnival calender.” He said “in my opinion, though, we had a very good parade, we had 20 more bands in the senior parade and we had a parade that lasted up to minutes after eight o’clock in the evening and there was never a break and we even got the Lost Tribe to find the Queen’s Park Savannah. So that was a very big plus.” De Silva thanked all those who attended the Savannah show, saying there was also a “massive” crowd at Skinner Park for Calypso Fiesta, which he said was a plus.

He also said that this year’s Panorama finals was the highest standard that he has ever been exposed to although it was “a little unfair for you to have to wait until three o’clock in the morning to hear the winning band.” De Silva said that a lot of the products that the NCC produces have to be tweaked for 2018, although, he said, the traditional mas parade on Carnival Monday will build, stick-fighting is growing by leaps and bounds and Canboulay is very popular.

Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, welcomed the role played by the NCC and other cultural organisations in the country, promising to strengthen and support their efforts toward the holistic development of all the country’s festivals, particularly Carnival, “the most important of our festivals.” She added, “we look forward to supporting the pageantry, the arts, the entrepreneurial spirit, and of course the engagement of all of our peoples.” She saluted all those who contributed to the festival, urging them to continue to work and transform their talents into excellence and success.

The evening saw the presentation of 72 prizes to winners in mas, pan and calypso categories.

The Mayor of San Fernando, Junior Regrello, presented the winner’s trophy to Junior King of Carnival, Samuel Jackson, who portrayed Samuel Star — D Mystical Blazing Fireman. Regrello also made the presentation to Junior Carnival Queen, Natalia D’Abreau, for her portrayal of Egypt’s Beauty.

Saving the best for last, Gadsby- Dolly later presented the trophy to King of Carnival Ted Eustace for his portrayal Crypto — Lord of the Galaxy, and Queen of Carnival Krystal Thomas, who portrayed De Nebula.

Jason Lewis accepted the prize for pan champs Massy Trinidad All Stars and Gadsby-Dolly celebrated Hollis Liverpool (Chalkdust) as the National Calypso Monarch by presenting him with his trophy for his controversial winning composition, Learn from Arithmetic.

And then it was really over when Mavis John was called on stage to sing The Carnival is Over.

The committee, in an interim report, Copeland told a press conference yesterday at the UWI St Augustine Campus, looked at ways the university should mobilise for the implementation of the changes in the GATE funding which are to be put in place from September 2017.

With the means test being the main challenge, he said, “That means there has to be a change in our process to accommodate that test.” Before students had 100 percent coverage, but with the change some will be given 100 percent, 75 percent and 50 percent.

“Students will need to know exactly how much support they are getting,” he said. “Simply as it sounds, it complicates the process.” “Processing to accommodate students and to reflect the different levels of GATE support will require some adjustments,” he said.

Noting that the university has no influence on GATE itself and that the committee’s findings were its response to Government’s recommendations on GATE, Copeland said, the committee’s final report should be in by April month end.

“We have to move very quickly because very soon the whole system will start for the new academic year,” he said.

Noting that it was still too early to tell how the changes will affect students, he said some 9,000 students’ applications are in and some 4,000 will be accepted.

Nevertheless, he said, “I really don’t expect too much of a change.

Other factors will impact on students coming to the UWI.” In terms of post graduate scholarships given the recent decline in the country’s economy, he said, Government has not indicated a change in its policy, except for the GATE and that it will be looking to fund programmes geared for national development.

On campus safety and security, he said, the campus was a village by itself with a population of about 45,000 associating with it and students need to exercise due caution in spite of security systems in place.

The introduction of the zoning of vehicular traffic on campus last September, he said, caused some initial discomfort, but it has reduced the amount of unauthorised vehicles passing through

Prince Ishwar Ramlutchman said that he was saddened that crime was the order of the day in Trinidad and Tobago, but he also revealed that South Africa also faced its own challenges in curbing violence.

At the time, Ramlutchman was speaking with Newsday following a ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary for the abolition of East Indian Indentureship which also saw the unveiling of a commemorative monument. The ceremony was hosted at the grounds of Saith Park, Chaguanas. “All races need to unite, it does not matter what creed or race you are, we come together and give each other a listening ear,”he said. He said that a government is not to be blamed for the high levels of crime in a country. But he said that social injustices are the result of intolerance which leads to violence. “If you as Trinidadians cannot integrate, then you have failed because you are a diversified country, everything is diversified here and humanity must come first, then only you can prosper as a nation, social injustice is a collective problem and we need to come together as citizens and deal with this,” he said. Adding, he said, South Africa, like TT, is a multiracial society. “We have gone through a horrific past and we still have challenges as a society mainly dealing with social problems which have become a major problem in our country with the elite and very poor and this leads to intolerance between each other because of the social injustice,”he explained.

Ramlutchman said he was honoured to be a part of such a historic day yesterday. Chaguanas mayor Gopaul Boodhan said yesterday’s commemoration was not merely a remembrance, but marks a time in which many must give thanks and pay tribute to their ancestors for having bequeathed their culture which not only encompasses religion and arts but resilience, strength and sacrifice. “This monument is a symbol of our history with limited choices, but we do have a choice now to build monuments on our hearts, our minds, our spirit, in our communities and in our country, of excellence, prosperity and well being,”he said. Also speaking Jamaican high Commissioner David Prendergast echoed similar views, stating that the event was a significant and important milestone to several Caribbean countries including Jamaica who share a similar history of patterns of migration and cultural patterns.

“The contributions of Indians to the development, formation and culture of our societies has been a significant one. I, therefore, offer hearty congratulations to the Indian Diaspora for organizing this event and for the vision of bringing the Indian Diaspora together,”he explained.

In the Under-15 section, Crown Trace notched a 1-0 victory over Central Soccer World, courtesy of an own goal in the 40th minute.

Isaac Lynch of Crown Trace was named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) among the Under- 15s.

In the semi-final phase, Crown Trace cruised past Cap Off Youths 2-0, courtesy of an own goal in the first minute and a strike from Ivan dos Santos in the 17th, while Central Soccer World got a 3-0 win, via default, over Tunapuna Titans.

SKHY FC needed kicks from the penalty spot to defeat Todds Road United 5-4 in the final of the Boys Under-17 section, after a goalless scoreline at the end of regulation time.

Earlier, in the semis, MVP of the Under-17 group Shaquem Bleasdell scored in the 11th minute as SKHY FC pipped Cap Off Youths 1-0 while Todds Road earned a similar 1-0 result over Roystonia FC, with Jonathan Richards finding the back of the net in the 16th.

The final of the Boys Under-20 category, between Gasparillo Youth FC and Crown Trace FC, will take place tomorrow at the St Mary’s Recreation Ground.

Gasparillo needed penalties to oust Trincity Nationals 2-1, after the scores were tied at 1-1 after regulation time. Darren Moore scored for Gasparillo in the fourth minute while Tyrese Spicer equalised in the 17th.

Crown Trace also required spot-kicks to get the better of SKHY FC 3-2 after the scoreboard read 1-1 at full-time. Aaron Skeene netted for SKHY FC in the 12th minute while Kendell Hitlal levelled the scores 11 minutes later.

Other Results: Under-11 Division – GASPARILLO YOUTHS FC (3) – Mark Young, John Ross, Jaysie Penda vs NEW SETTLEMENT SPORTS (0).

TABAQUITE (2) – Eldon St Louis 2 vs NEW SETTLEMENT SPORTS (0).

GASPARILLO YOUTHS (3) – Jaysie Penda 2, Josiah Bain vs PRINCES TOWN SPORTS (0).

GASPARILLO YOUTHS (1) – Jaysie Penda vs TABAQUITE (0).

NEW SETTLEMENT SPORTS (0) vs PRINCES TOWN SPORTS (0).

TABAQUITE (2) – Jessie Charles 2 VS PRINCES TOWN SPORTS (0).

Under-13 Division – PRINCES TOWN SPORTS ACADEMY (2) – Raymond Commissiong, Omari Brereton vs TABAQUITE (1) – Jayden Baptiste.

ST MADELINE STRIKERS (3) – Joel Maitland-Wilson, Jabarie Forbes, Jah Malee Barclay vs GASPARILLO YOUTHS (1) – Jaysie Penda.

TABAQUITE (1) – Shakeem Revenales vs GASPARILLO YOUTHS (0).

ST MADELINE STRIKERS (1) – Ashton Ifill vs PRINCES TOWN SPORTS ACADEMY (0).

ST MADELINE STRIKERS (3) – Joel Maitland-Wilson 2, Josiah Cooper vs TABAQUITE (0).

PRINCES TOWN SPORTS (3) – Jaylon Brereton 2, Omari Brereton vs GASPARILLO YOUTHS (0).

Jada was the previous record holder (9:31.10) which she set in June 2016 while representing Trinidad and Tobago at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC). On Sunday night, she stopped the clock at 9:24.15 to decimate her old mark and establish qualifying times for the 2017 CARIFTA and CCCAN Championships.

Her sibling and Marlins teammate, Graham Chatoor, won the 15-17 male 1500m freestyle in 17:26.32. He not only qualified for CARIFTA and CCCAN, but also qualified for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bahamas which is scheduled for August 2017.

The Chatoor siblings have been undefeated in long distance at the last three national club events at the National Aquatic Centre – the Open Short Course last November, the ASATT December Invitational meet and the recently concluded National Age Group Long Course.

Zarek Wilson of Blue Dolphins Swim Club copped three more gold medals, winning the 11-12 male 200m backstroke in a time of 2:36.19, the 100m butterfly in 1:07.91 and the 50m freestyle on Sunday night. Wilson added these to his medal tally, after he won triple gold in the 11-12 male 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke and 200m butterfly on Friday night, as he achieved CARIFTA and CCCAN Qualifying Times in all three events and also emerged as the overall high point trophy winner for the age group.

The meet concluded on Sunday night and the CARIFTA National Swim Team is expected to be selected at a meeting of Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago this evening

Speaking on his chances of attaining successive Classifieds titles, Dookram was optimistic: “I definitely have a shot of repeating as champion because I have previous wins on almost all of the players that are in the draw on Wednesday. It would be a tough day because matches are best-of-seven so my physical fitness will be tested but I will try to adjust and play a smart game.” There were no major upsets on Sunday as the quarter-final round will see the top six ranked players along with Franklyn Seechan and Sanga Quamina. The number one ranked player Dookram will clash against Terry Corbin (Himalaya) while Curtis Humphreys will come up against his WASA clubmate Franklyn Seechan. In the other matches, Reeza Burke (Hawks) will face Alaric Humphreys (UTT ) and also from Hawks, Arun Roopnarine will play London- based Sanga Quamina representing Carenage Blasters.

In the Women` s equivalent, top ranked player Linda Partap-Boodhan (Hawks) will be hoping to make it four Classifieds titles in five years but Powergen` s Catherine Spicer stands in her way of making history.

Boodhan expressed her thoughts on the final: “Well our encounter in the group stage was a pretty comfortable victory for me but in a final anything can happen.” In the previous round, Boodhan survived a scare from Shreya Maharaj (Carenage Blasters) to eventually win 4-3 (9:11, 5:11, 14:12, 11:5, 11:4, 9:11, 11:7).

Spicer had an easier encounter when she defeated Brittany Joseph (WASA) 4-1 (15:13, 13:11, 8:11, 11:4, 11:8).

The A2 Open Division will see a replay of the Silver Bowl Boys under 18 final which was held last weekend at the same venue when Luc O` Young defeated his Carenage Blasters teammate Joshua Maxwell in three straight sets. The match should be entertaining as Maxwell will be keen on revenge while O’Young will want to continue his winning streak.

En route to the final, O`Young brushed aside Riad Abasali (WASA) 3-0 (11:6, 11:2, 11:6) and Maxwell battled past Derron Douglas (Bago Slammers) 3-1 (11:6, 9:11, 12:10, 11:9).

All matches are best of seven sets and players are organisers have asked to be at the venue at least 30 mins before their matches.

The major announcement was made yesterday at the Ansa McAl booth at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. The total figure of the partnership between Carib Brewery and the CPL was not disclosed but both parties are buzzing with excitement about the agreement.

Miguel Marquez, commercial director at Carib Brewery said, “Cricket is something we are always excited about, sport is something that Carib Brewery is always excited about. It was once said by a former minister that Carib Brewery is the Ministry of Sport and we are continuing in that vein. We have invested huge sums of money in culture and in sport over the years particularly in the Caribbean and in Trinidad and Tobago. We are a genuine Caribbean beer, we are the genuine Caribbean beer and we are extremely, extremely excited to be part of the CPL.” Jamie Stewart, commercial director of the CPL said partners are important to the survival of the tournament.

“We cannot put on an event without our partners. Unlike other sports leaders in the world that rely on television rights, we are very much dependant on our corporate partners to pay the bills and make everything happen.

Thank you once again for coming on board.” Manager of the Trinbago Knight Riders Colin Borde praised Carib for their long service to cricket. Borde said, “Carib has been sponsoring and (has been) part of the development of West Indies cricket for more than 35 years. They have done it through club cricket, regional cricket and West Indian cricket, and now to see that Carib is coming on board with the Caribbean Premier League, I think this augurs well for the future.” Welcoming the announcement, Damien O’Donohoe, Chief Executive Officer of the Hero CPL, said: “Carib are passionate about this partnership and they are an innovative and socially aware company who have strong core values, such as leadership, accountability and going the extra mile, which are also a big part of the Hero CPL’s own values.

“Carib Beer has a long-standing association as the number one beer in the Caribbean and we are delighted to team up together for the next three years.

We believe that this association will enable both brands to ramp up the biggest party in sport this summer, in this, the Hero CPL’s fifth year.” Marketing manager of Carib Antron Forte, also gave remarks at the partnership function.

The 2017 CPL runs from June 29 to August 7.

Smith is also the Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central.

The presentation of equipment by the Sports Minister was part of the mandate of the Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Board of Control (TT BBC) to facilitate the development of boxing and to regulate boxing contests throughout the twin-island republic.

According to a media release, “the rationale for the handing over of equipment is to project an eagerness to train by young boxers and also to improve the quality of training by the coaches.” The media release continued, “the Minister has advised that an aspect of the Government’s policy is to focus on the grassroots to have a level playing field where sport is available to all.

The Minister also called on parents to ensure that the environment is safe for their kids to work and play.

He envisioned working with parents in an effort to train them in the correct way to support and encourage their children rather than pressure them.” The Sports Minister stressed on the need to develop more children in sport at an earlier age, namely at the primary school level, so that they benefit from the available programmes before entering secondary school.

The aim is to nurture and secure a pool of talented young athletes from which to continue to build sport in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr Barry Ishmael, chairman of the TT BBC, stated that the equipment distribution was part of its overall mandate to develop and expand boxing as part of the strategic vision.

There are 13 gyms to set to receive equipment which would be monitored on an ongoing basis by the TBBC co-ordinators.