B.U.T President The Incident Is Not As It Seemed

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Bahamas Union Of Teachers President Belinda Wilson speaking out after reports surfaced of a 4th grader allegedly being assaulted by a police officer.

Wilson says based on the reports she’s heard the matter may not be as reported.

“ I think that matter was really blown out of proportion, from what I’ve heard. It was a little spanking. So, I hear that the child was assaulted. I don’t know any degree of assault there,” says Wilson

Police said in a statement last night that the incident allegedly happened, on Tuesday.

Police said the boy’s parent made the complaint, and that the administrative staff of E.P. Roberts Primary School and the officials at the Ministry Of Education are assisting the police with this matter.

The officer accused of assaulting the student is not a school resource officer and is not attached to the school policing division.

“  When you talk about an officer, well, just a uniform calls for respect. But, um, definitely meandered onto the campus. So that would be a part of the investigation, as to who gave authority for him to be on the campus and what was his purpose and the objective,” says Wilson

But that’s not Wilson’s only concern, she also highlighted a recent altercation at C.V. Bethel Senior High School last month, that involved a student and teacher.

That incident prompted teachers to stage a sit-out in protest.

Wilson says the matter has been resolved but noted that there are other things that need to be addressed.

“Just about every time you see murder or a violent incident on the street, there are children that are associated with that person who was killed or maimed or injured and I don’t think there’s sufficient focus on getting those children grief counseling,” says Wilson

Another issue the union is facing is challenges with school administrators allegedly being in violation of their industrial agreement.

Wilson claims union representatives are not being allowed on campuses.

Wilson warned that if the situation persists, the union is prepared to escalate the matter to the supreme court.

“ The union must have access to the campus because our members are on the campus and they like they don’t understand and what happens then is it exacerbates the problem,” says Wilson