Queen’s College shelves proposed ban of parent who allegedly accosted Deputy Principal

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 November 2022, 17:08 by Denis Chabrol

Queen’s College teachers have been advised tentatively against banning a senior judicial officer from entering the school building because of alleged hostility he displayed to the Deputy Headmistress last Friday when he went to enquire why his daughter was made to apologise to a male student who has a history of aggression to other students, sources said.

In correspondence seen by Demerara Waves Online News, acting Principal Candaice Cave-Stephen told the Chairman and the Board of that secondary school that “advice will be given as it relates to the legality of not allowing the parent in the building as such the administration should not proceed in that direction.”

Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary) Tiffany Harvey and Principal Education Officer Emanuel Bridgewater met with Queen’s College staff on Wednesday and the Principal is now expected to dispatch a “comprehensive report” about the alleged incident that occurred last week Friday.  While teachers are expecting a resolution by next Monday, they are to continue classes normally, the correspondence states.

Senior officials have told Demerara Waves Online News that the senior judicial officer did not take the police to the school on his own although questions were being raised about how a senior officer of the Major Crimes Unit was present there. Demerara Waves Online News was told that the senior legal functionary reported the alleged assault of his daughter by the male student who is a very senior official of the Ministry of Education.

According to an education official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a policewoman and a policeman were dispatched to Queen’s College with the full knowledge and involvement of the Principal Education Officer as the intent was to avoid the students being taken to a police station.

The Ministry of Education official said the investigation is expected to extend into whether the schoolboy has a history of assaulting students and if occurrences have been recorded in the log book. “They had several complaints about the student. He just hit the wrong student. It was bound to happen,” the source said.

While not justifying the hostility meted out to the Deputy Principal, the Education Ministry official said the senior judicial functionary tried on a number of occasions to contact the Principal but she allegedly avoided him.

When the Deputy Principal interacted with judicial officer last week Friday on the instruction of the Principal, the engagement became very heated and the police officer was obliged to stand between the duo.