By Venus Honore-Gopie Saturday, October 10 2009

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School's over: A few students hang around the compound of St Joseph's College, St Joseph after classes yesterday. ...

“Angry, upset and humiliated.”

This is how students of St Joseph’s College said they felt about reports that 32 form five students were strip-searched by two policemen and a policewoman on the school compound on Tuesday.

The form five students were ordered to strip, squat and cough as they were body searched without the presence of their parents or guardians while officers investigated a report of another student missing $1,400.

Students who spoke to Newsday asked that their names be withheld since the incident has brought shame to them and the school.

One form three student said although the strip-search took place with the form five students other students expressed outrage and felt hurt and said the police officers should have taken the students to the nearby St Joseph Police Station accompanied by their parents. The school and police station are located opposite each other on Abercromby Street, St Joseph.

“Our school is now looking as though we have a school full of thieves. The student was not supposed to be bringing that amount of money at school,” the upset student said. One of the form five students who was made to stip- search remained silent as she refused to speak about the incident.

However, a male form five student said they felt the situation was “irrelevant and their rights were violated” since their voices could not be heard.

Newsday yesterday reported principal Kester De Verteuil apologised to parents and several students at a meeting held at the school on Thursday. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) yesterday sympathised with the outrage of the parents of the students.

Chairman of the CBA Desmond Allum SC, in a release yesterday, stated that in light of the manner in which the strip-search was conducted, “it appears that the constitutional rights of these students were disregarded in the most cavalier way by all of the authority figures involved.”

The release further added the CBA “condemns this unlawful conduct in no uncertain terms,”and commended the parents who have had the courage to stand up for their children’s rights. “We hope that the Commissioner of Police and the Ministry of Education take steps to ensure the protection of students in all our schools and that such an outrage is not repeated.”

Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) president Rouston Job also believes the procedure carried out on the students were not acceptable.

Job said TTUTA felt once a strip-search was carried out it should be done in the presence of the students’ parents.

He believes the Ministry of Education should appoint counsellors to assist the students who were directly affected in the strip-search.

Newsday learnt the Ministry of Education is in the process of receiving reports from St George East district school supervisor Ashram Deoraj as well as a report from the Student Support Services Division as part of an investigation.

Chief Education Officer Peter O’ Neil said yesterday the ministry was trying to bring some closure to the matter and is continuing their investigation.