00:00 Nivan Dewan was one of the first cohort of students who navigated the online learning
00:05 space during the COVID-19 pandemic.
00:07 He sat the secondary entrance assessment in 2020 and passed for his first choice, St.
00:13 Anthony's College.
00:14 The jubilation that his family felt came to an end in November 2023, when Nivan and six
00:21 other students were suspended and subsequently expelled from school for a fight caught on
00:26 camera in which another student was brutally beaten, spawning a police investigation with
00:32 criminal implications that is still underway.
00:36 His mother Rajmati Dewan says it was the first time that her son was ever suspended and the
00:42 expulsion letter given to them by the principal came as a surprise.
00:46 When Nivan asked and he stood up for himself and he asked, "Sir, what am I being expelled
00:51 for?
00:52 I was not a part of the fight."
00:54 And they started listing a lot of stuff that they said was happening in school.
00:58 Now, boys will be boys, right?
01:01 Yes, maybe he, I'm not saying my child is perfect.
01:04 Yes, he may have done things, but he was not a part of the fight and he was expelled because
01:08 of the fight.
01:09 The document they gave me is because of the fight.
01:13 While she has never seen the viral video, she claims Nivan's statement to police was
01:17 relayed to her as being factual.
01:19 He did try to throw a cheap blow and did not.
01:23 He got a lash and he came out.
01:24 They said that that was the correct thing.
01:27 In November 2023, the Education Ministry made a recommendation for Nivan, who was 15 at
01:33 the time, to be enrolled in the MILAD program.
01:36 After they expelled him, they were promoting MILAD.
01:38 Everything was about MILAD after that.
01:40 "Ma'am, you're going to receive a call in January, the opening in January from MILAD
01:46 and your son, you can go and enroll your son there.
01:48 Your son is going to be enrolled in MILAD."
01:50 This is now February 27th and I haven't received any call.
01:54 We even went to MILAD and drop off an application personally as well and still no response.
02:05 The frustration is compounded as Nivan tells us she is unable to afford private education,
02:10 but she previously tried to see if she could get her son to sign up with other educational
02:15 institutions only to be met with excuses.
02:19 So I'll have to talk to the admins and see what happens.
02:21 We'll get back to you.
02:22 Well, ma'am, we're not supposed to take, we were told not to take the St. Anthony students.
02:29 Ministry has other plans for them.
02:32 That's the kind of stuff that you're getting.
02:34 Some people are saying that they're going to get back to me and I have it.
02:36 Nobody calling back.
02:38 Nobody's accepting the child.
02:40 Nivan has just turned 16 and his mother feels as though his life is being wasted for what
02:45 she maintains is a wrongful expulsion.
02:48 Technically, what ministry has done, this is what I feel as a parent, a hurting parent,
02:53 that they throw my child out of school and tell him, okay, go out there and pick up a
02:57 gun and start killing and rob people because you're no good for the school system.
03:03 But she is concerned that without an education, he'll become a statistic.
03:08 If I don't keep an eye on my son, I just might lose my son and I'm not ready to lose my son
03:13 as yet.
03:14 And I'm being honest with you, Nivan has shown me certain angles because of this whole situation.
03:21 Dewan states that Nivan is regretful and expresses sentiments that he wishes he could get a second
03:27 chance to do things over differently.
03:30 You look emotional right now.
03:31 What are you thinking?
03:33 It's very hard.
03:34 It's very hard.
03:35 My son needs to go to school.
03:37 He's a young boy.
03:39 And I mean, I came from a background where my parents couldn't afford to send me to school.
03:47 My home was broken from a child and we tried.
03:50 We all tried.
03:52 She's making a plea to the education ministry.
03:55 I would like Ministry of Education to review Nivan's profile, go back to the police and
04:02 get the proper report because a proper investigation is not finished and completed as yet in this
04:07 matter.
04:08 I am not one of the boys that hit that boy and brutally beat him.
04:13 And if it is, if for some strange reason this decision to expel my son could be reverted
04:20 and he could be put back into the school system, I'll do my utmost best as a single parent
04:26 to make sure that Nivan finish school and make us proud.
04:31 TV6 News contacted Minister of Education Dr. Nian Gadsby-Dawley, who referred us to the
04:36 Ministry of Youth Development and National Service concerning the MILAT enrollment.
04:42 Calls and messages to Minister Foster Cummings were unanswered up to news time.
04:47 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
04:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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