Senior Reporter
sascha.wilsn@guardian.co.tt
A Form Two student suffered a punctured lung after he was stabbed by another student after school on Monday.
The incident happened at 2.40 pm, after the 14-year-old Fyzabad Secondary student left the school compound.
Initial reports stated that the boy exited the school gates and attempted to cross the road with a friend. However, he was accosted by the student who asked him what was his problem. A scuffle broke out and the attacker allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the boy in the right side of his chest.
A taxi driver saw the boy bleeding and took him to the Fyzabad Health Facility, where his mother met him. He was treated and transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital where an x-ray showed that his right lung had been punctured. He remained warded in a stable condition yesterday.
Contacted via WhatsApp yesterday, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said police patrols have been requested for the school. “The report states that the incident did not take place in the school. It took place after students left the compound. It is for this reason that the TTPS have been requested to provide patrols outside of schools at the end of the school day.”
Fyzabad police are investigating.
Last month, five students were stabbed during a brawl at the Palo Seco Secondary School after two gangs reportedly clashed.
Given the escalation in school violence and indiscipline, National Parents Teachers Association (NPTA) president Walter Stewart recently suggested that the Government urgently consider introducing a law that holds parents legally responsible for their children’s actions.
During an interview on CNC3’s The Morning Brew programme, Stewart said if parents realise that they are totally responsible for the behaviour and attitude of their children, they would ensure that whatever it takes, they walk the straight and narrow.
He said the community police system can also help, as the children could be monitored in their school and home environment.
