Trinidad and Tobago: Concerns raised following another School bullying incident

Trinidad and Tobago: A Student of Rio Claro East Secondary School was reportedly bullied by his schoolmates leaving him with a swollen and bruised face. The incident which took place on Tuesday after the suicide of Jayden Lalchan, has further sparked concerns among citizens for the safety of their children. 

The student’s identity has not been revealed by the authorities, however, the child’s parents revealed that their child was kicked and cuffed in his belly and his face was hit leaving him all bruised. They further said that the kid’s head was all swollen with two chipped teeth and severe chest and belly pains.

"This was the condition when I went to pick up my child from school on Tuesday,” the parent said. 

The parents received a call from the school authorities in the morning stating that they immediately needed to come to the school and take their child to the health centre for immediate treatment. 

It was further revealed that the attack on the victim was not the first time, as the student was also attacked earlier by his fellows. The parents said that they had been bullying their kid since he started secondary school. 

According to the parents, during the last term, seven of them went into his classroom and jumped him, following which they got suspended but nothing changed. However, one of them again slapped him in the second week of the new school term and again got suspended. 

The parent said that he complained to the Dean and Safety Department and also called the parents of the alleged gang, however, nothing came to a fruitful result as the parents refused to come to school saying that they were fed up with their children and that they have to deal with that. 

Notably, the incident that has come across following the suicide case of Jayden Lalchan, who died of a similar incident has sparked concerns among citizens over school safety. Many users are calling out the authorities to take strict action, however many are calling the parents to take strict action against their children for this unruly behaviour. 

One of the users Camille Sinneette said, “Hear nah. Idk nah. I'm tired of reading about kids getting bullied. Like Are gangsters going to school? Just imagine the mom of the menace saying she is fed up with him. Can only imagine what goes on in his household. Just sad.”

Another user named Marsh Simpson said that if she had been in the parent’s place she would take a strict action against the children. 

“One like me not waiting on no school or authorities to deal with it. I will be fixing that by myself! I'm just as mad as the little gangsters,” he said. 

One of the users highlighted that the age should be revised for offenses related to bullying while calling out the Youth Training and Rehabilitation Centre. 

“Whatever happened to the Youth Training & Rehabilitation Centre? Maybe the age limit should be revisited to include persons who should go there for offenses related to bullying. Children these days don't realize there are serious consequences to their actions and sometimes there is only so much a parent(s) can do. Let them go to jail/YTRC and spend some time there and see how they like it,” the user on social media noted.