Although the teacher who intervened in a school fight last week between students at Moruga Secondary is being hailed on social media as a hero, TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) head Martin Lum Kin is warning teachers against intervening in such incidents.
Multiple videos of the fight showed at least three girls and one boy kicking, slapping, punching and throwing things at a girl on the floor as a male teacher with a broom in his hand tried to intervene.
One of the assailants tried to grab the broom from the teacher but it broke. She then took the broken part and began beating the girl as she lay on the ground.
The victim managed to get to her feet and run to a corner of the room where she stood facing the wall and tried to fix her skirt.
As the teacher tried to fend off one of her other attackers, another picked up a dust pan with a long handle and began beating her with it until the handle broke.
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The girl fell to ground and as she got back to her feet, the teacher stood in front of her.
That did nothing to slow her attackers, one of whom took off her shirt and began attacking the teacher while another threw a bin at him.
In the aftermath of the fight, tables, chairs and a fan lay scattered and damaged on the ground while a boy is heard cautioning another against violence toward women.
“Aye, aye, aye, don’t be hitting no gyal dawg!”
The teacher has since been praised on social media for his bravery with many Facebook users noting the girl’s fate could have been worse without his intervention.
Despite this, Lum Kin suggested teachers should “exercise a level of caution” before getting involved in student fights.
In a voicenote sent to media, he commended the teacher but said members needed to assess the entire situation before intervening, particularly if there were female students involved.
“Our male counterparts must be careful as accusations of improper touching can be made against the teacher. Additionally, teachers can be accused of using excessive force in intervening.
“We advise members to seek the assistance of security officers, safety officers and deans at secondary schools.”
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He said the video re-emphasises the union’s concern about the level of anger and violence being perpetrated by nation’s children.
“This can never be a good sign for TT,” he said.
Lum Kin said he was confident an investigation would be done and the relevant sanctions would be applied to the students involved.
“When it comes to unwarranted attacks on our nation’s educators TTUTA will not rule out the use of suspension or even expulsion.”
He said the sanctions, however, could not be a stand-alone solution.
“These sanctions must come with the relevant psychological intervention. There must be some additional interventions when suspension or expulsion are utilised.”
He suggested the fight was just a glimpse into the reality facing teachers at the Moruga Secondary School since last year, and said more needed to be done to address it.
“Over last six months, we have witnessed a high level of student violence and indiscipline. We call on the Ministry of Education (MoE) to seriously assist the school and administrators in curbing this.”
He said the current approach to addressing indiscipline at the school had not been effective.
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“We are mindful that the school utilised restorative practices but it has been reported to TTUTA it is having an effect on some students and those involved in more serious levels of indiscipline are not being affected by this intervention.”
He said failure to address the issue could lead to even graver consequences.
“The MoE has to and must intervene at this school before it leads to a more serious outcome of not only students, but also our educators at the school.”
Lum Kin said the teacher was in good health and added, despite social media reports to the contrary, he had not been disciplined.
Newsday tried to call Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly to ask her thoughts on TTUTA's warning to teachers and its claims of high levels of indiscipline at Moruga Secondary.
She asked to be texted instead but, up till news time, had not yet responded to our questions.
Neither of the PNM's nor the UNC's candidates for Moruga, former teacher Lisa Atwater and incumbent MP Michelle Benjamin respectively, responded to Newsday's questions on the issue.
