The Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into the assault of a student of the Bartica Secondary School in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni).
The student turned up to school wearing white socks, instead of black, as is the school’s dress code. This infuriated the teacher, identified as Morris Waddell.
In a video that has begun circulating, the teacher is seen pushing the child down into his seat at least three times while violently pointing a ruler at him and hitting him on the feet.
The teacher proceeds to grab the student by his left foot and flipped him on the ground, with the student landing on his back.
With the student still on the ground, the teacher removes the shoes and the socks from his feet. This was done in the presence of the entire class.
Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said the ministry intends to conclude the investigation very swiftly.
“No teacher is allowed to abuse a child,” Manickchand told the News Room, and said the rules governing discipline in schools “would not permit this type of behaviour.”
She added: “Perhaps the time is right for us to begin to examine again what discipline in schools should look like.”