By Vernon Daley,
Staff Reporter
St. George's College
THE HOSPITALISATION of a first form student at St. George's College, who was caned by a teacher, has forced the school to ban the practice and has sent education officials behind closed doors to discuss the issue.
Yesterday, St. George's principal Van Hitchener, who insisted that the boy was not admitted to hospital because of the caning, nevertheless said the practice would be banned at the 150-year-old institution.
"He was not hospitalised because of the beating. That is not true. It's just coincidental," Mr. Hitchener emphasised.
He added that the student, who has a 'medical condition' which disposes him to disruptive behaviour, was caned by a teacher who was unaware of his illness. (To protect the privacy of the child, Mr. Hitchener asked that details of the boy's condition not be published.)
After being caned, the boy continued to be disruptive, even as he complained about stomach aches, explained the principal. His parents were called and he was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for his illness.
Yesterday, Education Minister Burchell Whiteman was said to be locked in a meeting with senior aides discussing, among other things, the approach the Ministry would take with the controversial issue.
Last year, Mr. Whiteman, at an awards function in Kingston, hit out against corporal punishment in schools, saying that creative and constructive ways must be found to discipline the nation's children.
The Education Code does not speak to the issue of corporal punishment, but debate on the subject has always been fierce, with the Jamaican public split down the middle. In recent times, some schools have ceased caning because of the possibility of law suits.
Cynthia Cooke, principal of Camperdown High School for eight years, told The Gleaner yesterday that she would not administer corporal punishment because of the legal problems that could arise.
"I'm not hitting anybody's children and I tell my staff that if they hit anybody's children, they are on their own," she said.
Another principal told The Gleaner that the accepted practice was to give one person in the school the responsibility for administering the punishment.
The St. George's principal said the incident with the first former has made it clear that caning "would not be tolerated". He also warned that he would recommend to the school Board, dismissing any teacher who continued caning.
The Jamaica Foundation for Children has also issued a press release against the caning of the boy and called on the Education Ministry and the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) to abolish corporal punishment in schools.
"There are other ways to discipline children without having to resort to physical or mental mistreatment," said Colleen Wint-Smith, executive director of the Foundation.
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