Saturday, January 28 2012

THE TEACHING Service Commission (TSC) does not have jurisdiction to deal with cases involving alleged teacher misconduct at private schools, commission chairman Hyacinth Guy said yesterday.

Appearing at a Parliament Joint Select Committee, Guy said the TSC was aware of an incident involving a teaching forcing a student’s head into a toilet bowl but upon further investigations the TSC discovered that it did not have jurisdiction over the incident.

“We looked into it and we discovered that it was a private school,” Guy said. “Our remit does not take us there.” The incident, involving an eight-year-old student was reported in Newsday on Thursday.

Police have reportedly obtained a confession from the teacher involved. Police sources revealed that the teacher spent several hours at the St Clair Police Station on Tuesday afternoon where a statement was given confessing to placing the student’s head in the toilet bowl and flushing it. Minister of Education Dr Tim Gopeesingh has ordered a probe and said disciplinary action would be taken. Minister of Gender Affairs, Child Development and Youth, Verna St Rose-Greaves, has said she would carry out her own investigations and offered support to the family. Speaking with reporters afterwards, Guy noted that private schools fall under the Ministry of Education. “We hope that the Ministry of Education will do something about that,” she said. “It is not within our remit but it is a school and something should be done.” Asked if the TSC should not have jurisdiction over all schools, Guy said, “the regulations would have to be changed.”