A number of parents of children attending the Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) have expressed outrage following an incident that occurred at the school recently.
ANN received reports from parents and teachers that cavity searches were allegedly conducted on a number of students by members of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVPF) without any parental consent.
Under the Education Act of St Vincent and the Grenadines, this is illegal.
The incident stems from a report made by one student after losing XCD$190.00.
The report was made to the Principal who then informed the RSVGPF.
Upon arrival at the school, it is alleged that the police officers conducted cavity searches on a number of students and allegedly had one male student doing “squats”.
Reports indicate that some students are now being ridiculed and bullied by their peers as some students are being called by the name ‘Squat’.
Teachers and parents are expressing outrage at what transpired with the Police.
One parent of a male student who was allegedly forced to squat said she did not wish to comment on the issue but she is leaving the matter in the hands of God.
When ANN contacted the principal of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School Mr. John Renton admitted that the incident occurred and he called in the Police to have the money recovered as it was a large sum of money.
The Principal said he contacted some of the parents informing them that search was being conducted on students , he however apologized for not contacting all parents.
At the time the search was completed none of the contacted parents showed up.
He said this was an oversight on his part and he accepts responsibility, he then apologized to the parents who then accepted his apology.
The Principal is also reassuring members of the public and parents of children attending the school that a situation like this will not happen again.
He is also appealing to parents not to allow their children to come to school with those large sums of money.
The missing money was not recovered during the search.
1 Comment
Help me here,was the principal aware that the students were being”cavity searched?where were these searches done,were they conducted in the presence of an adult other that the rspf? Even these robotic police members none of them are aware of the law,are they not parents,do they have siblings?