Girls suspended after fighting at school

Two schoolgirls of the Skeldon Line Path Secondary School in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) were suspended on Tuesday after they were involved in a fight which was caught on video.

The incident occurred on Monday after school was dismissed and one of the girls was armed with a knife.

A concerned parent, Lennos Lyken, spoke with the News Room following the incident and called for tighter security at the school. His daughter was beaten twice within a month during fights at the school

The young girl’s parents met with the teachers and the school’s welfare officer on Tuesday and following the meeting, they expressed dissatisfaction with just the suspension, noting that more stringent measures should be in place.

“This is not right, the other girl had a knife and right now my daughter afraid,” the girl’s mother told the News Room.

She explained that her daughter suffered bruises and cuts about her face and body after the fight.

In videos seen by the News Room, Lyken is observed taking the knife away while in another video, the girls are seen involved in a scuffle on the ground as the other students looked on.

Based on the videos, Lyken’s daughter suffered multiple slaps and cuffs to the face and head; she and the other student ended up in a scuffle on the ground and then rolled into a drain where the fight continued.

It wasn’t until Lyken arrived that the incident was reported to the teachers at the school. He also alleged that the security guard did not intervene.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said last week that there has been an increase in violence in schools and made it clear that this will not be tolerated.