As a teacher many years ago, Raymond Surujbally was among a crowd of people at KFC in Couva when a robbery occurred and the masked robber pointing a gun at him then called him “Sir”.
“Something struck me that I knew this guy somewhere. Fortunately, knowing him saved my life,” said Surujbally, now principal of Macaulay Government Primary School.
Surujbally, an educator of 40 years, shared the experience when he spoke at Monday’s UNC Pre-Budget Consultation in Pointe-a-Pierre.
Surujbally called for more resources to assist youths stay out of crime. He recommended more guidance officers, social workers, and teachers’ aides, and added On-the-Job resources and skills to make students more employable.
He noted some students may not be mentally stable, may have learning disabilities or may not be academically inclined.
Sharing what gave him the passion to be a teacher, Surujbally said he had been a teacher in Laventille in 1996 when there were Standard Six classes for children who failed Common Entrance Examinations and were given a chance to write the School Leaving (exam). He said there was a child–whose name he wouldn’t call–but he had have picked up certain behavioural patterns with that child.
Surujbally then said that in 1992 he was at KFC in Couva, “When a robbery was announced and we were all made to lie on the floor. And as I was on the floor in this position, I managed to look up and there was this guy standing over me with his gun pointing at me.
“But his mask wasn’t fully covering his face so I looked at him and he looked at me and something struck me that I knew this guy somewhere and then the word that I wished I’d never heard as an educator, I heard that word that day and he said, ‘Sir ...’ with a gun pointing at me, a mask over his face and a crowd lying on the floor, he said, ‘Sir ...’
Surujbally said he later stood and thought to himself what he had told his teachers about educating a child–it was not like planting a plant. “But when you take a child’s life in your hands and you nurture that child, you either make them somebody positive for society later on. If you’re a failure that child could become a negative influence in society and be a miscreant or nuisance.”
He also shared a separate incident where a school where he was assigned referred two students for help, but because of the length of time it took, there wouldn’t have been enough human resources to deal with the cases and “those two students are now dead.”
Surujbally said a 15 year old who had a multiple robbery record brought a knife to kill an ancillary staff member.
“When we picked it up and informed the relevant authorities, that child was taken out and sent to a home. The child left the home. There was no follow-up by the relevant authorities and that child found himself involved with a group of youths in criminal activities. Sad to say he was involved in a robbery and was shot dead at 15.”
