NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Many parents of students enrolled at St. Augustine’s College (SAC) on Friday expressed mixed views of an alleged disciplinary incident involving a student and an administrator at the school. And while some parents offered their support, others expressed that the administrator may have went too far.
Last week, a disgruntled parent posted his concerns on Facebook, after claiming that his son was allegedly beaten by an administrator at SAC.
The parent also uploaded a photo, which displayed a red bruise on his son’s buttocks. The post garnered a lot of attention, with more one thousand ‘likes’ and nearly two hundred shares. But when Eyewitness News visited the school’s campus on Friday past, some parents expressed their support for the administrator, stating that he has always been a respectable person.
“It’s probably a one-off situation, but I don’t think he is a malicious person,” one parent said.
Keno Lockhart said, “He is the type of person that everyone looks up to, he is a leader and brought the best out of young men.
“The boy probably never got a beating before,” said Lockhart of the alleged incident. “He may have felt it was something that he couldn’t deal with and you know he is a light skin person, so obviously it would show a bit more. I don’t think it was harsh though.”
Marcel Delancey said, “[He] is a very good gentleman and I support him 100 per cent.”
Another parent said, “I have dealt with [the administrator] with all of my children for different reasons and he seems to be quite level-headed, always calm.”
Another parent noted that discipline sometimes may be the only way for teachers to gain control of their classes.
“There are children who try to disrupt everything the teacher is trying to do,” the female parent said. “When you go to get a progress report, the teacher’s plight is that they can’t even get through their lesson plan because of disruptive children.”
Meanwhile, many parents interviewed on Friday expressed that the administrator may have went too far in disciplining the student.
“Teachers should know how far to go. I disagree with how the child was beaten, but I don’t know the other side of the story,” one parent said of the alleged incident.
Tina Kemp said, “Persons out there don’t believe in this punishment in school but taking it this far and having to go this far was not right.”
Jordan Clarke said, “It’s sad we think that going back to the abuse that our ancestors took is the only way to get a well-behaved child.
Facebook user, W Chryshan Dames said, “We still doing this in the 21stcentury, I can’t tell the last time I saw a student got discipline from beating and I teach in the high school. This is ludicrous and unacceptable.”
Facebook user, Sherry Beckford Bonaby called on the parents to report the matter to the police. “Press charged, because if you would send him to school in that condition, social services would be at your door,” Bonaby said.
The SAC administrator was reportedly taken into custody for the alleged incident last week and since then, the child’s picture has been removed from the Facebook post.
