Primary school Teachers in Tobago are said to be fearful for their lives.
According to Tobago TTUTA representative Bradon Roberts, the students are unruly and efforts to correct them, are met by threats from the parents. TV6'S Nicole M Romany has the story.
00:00The Tobago representative for the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association tells the TB6 Morning Edition children as young as those in the infant department are exhibiting deviant behaviour.
00:14He adds that the situation is going from bad to worse and some parents are not making it any easier.
00:21And in that last school I visited the Moriah government, teachers who stay back late in the evening, they are no longer encouraged to stay back late when their parents are threatening their lives.
00:30They are no longer willing to come to school extra early to give the extra time to the students when their lives are being threatened.
00:35And I would say some of these voice notes that I'm hearing, you have to talk after you listen to them because they are very loaded messages.
00:43According to Braden Roberts, teachers are afraid to even correct the delinquent students for fear of retaliation.
00:52So some persons with a negative character, sometimes we are fearful in addressing their issues because you feel, especially in gang culture now, they may have people coming for you.
01:03Roberts is calling for greater assistance from the police in dealing with these students.
01:08He also wants the authorities to put programmes in place to help troubled pupils.
01:14The tutor representative is further pleading with parents to treat with behavioural issues at home as well.
01:21When the primary school is getting this deviant in terms of their behaviour, where these standard two children don't respect the principal,
01:28once we reach that stage, an intervention is needed and needed urgently.
01:33What I see we focus on in Trinidad and Tobago is the end result, so that crime and the reactions and so on.
01:42And it's like those ads with the mosquito prevention and so on.
01:46Everybody buying flit, but they're not cleaning up their yard.
01:49When contacted via phone this morning, Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett said she was notified of the situation and is already looking into it.
01:59TV6 also contacted Assistant Commissioner of Police in Tobago, Oswin Suberu, who said he was aware of some incidents and has dispatched officers to conduct investigations.
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