NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Police were summoned to the C.V. Bethel Senior High School campus on Monday, after an argument between a male teacher and a male student escalated and allegedly turned violent, resulting in the teacher being rushed to hospital for medical attention.
Belinda Wilson, President of The Bahamas Union of Teachers confirmed to Eyewitness News Online that union officials expect to have the matter, which is currently under investigation by police, resolved within the next 24 to 48 hours.
According to Wilson, the incident allegedly started when the male teacher engaged the student in discussion.
“I think there was some discussion with the teacher and the student, one student; and then other students got involved,” Wilson explained.
“The teacher’s arm was injured and he was not bloody as social media suggested. So, he went to the hospital and he received service and may have to do an X-ray or an MRI and the matter was reported to police.
“There is a police statement at the South Beach Police Station so we will try to get to the bottom of this between this evening and tomorrow.”
While the incident caused quite a stir on the school’s campus, Wilson confirmed that regular classes continued throughout the remainder of the school day yesterday.
“Tomorrow we will definitely have to have a discussion with the principal, students and parents in order for us to get to the bottom of this matter,” Wilson shared.
Wilson, who was clearly disturbed by the incident, shared that there appears to be a breakdown in the country’s social construct; which includes a lack of respect for authority.
“What concerns us [teachers] so much nowadays is that students seem like they cannot draw the line of respect,” she said. “A teacher should be held in high esteem and there is a level of respect that has been lost.”
Wilson called for parents to take a greater responsibility to ensure that their children are raised with proper socialization skills and respect for authority.
“I really want to ask parents to take more quality time with their children to really train them up in the way they should go so that they know the difference between right and wrong and know where boundaries are. Because there seems as though there are no boundaries,” Wilson said.
While calling for parents to play a greater role in rearing their children, she indirectly pointed out that government must also step up to the plate to ensure that school compounds are provided with adequate security measures.
“There are only nine attendance officers in the entire system and when you talk about 180 schools on 24 islands and cays and 57, 000 students; then you know that nine individuals – without transportation and the equipment and tools that they need – it’s very difficult for them to do their jobs effectively,” she said.
Eyewitness News Online attempted to contact both Marcellus Taylors, Director of Education and Jeff Lloyd, Minister of Education, on the matter; but both men were unavailable for comment up to press time.
