Principals too?!

PRINCIPALS are among teachers and other school staff fingered in 37 or 51.3 per cent of the sexual and physical abuse cases in educational institutions reported to the Children's Registry.

In its 2008-2009 report tabled in Parliament Tuesday, the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) said the physical abuse cases involved corporal punishment and injuries at school. It said there were also reports of emotional abuse by teachers and other school staff against children.

However, the report did not give a breakdown of the number of sexual and physical abuse cases or the number of principals involved.

The Children's Registry said 16 or 22.2 per cent of the reports it received were against child care institutions; seven or 9.7 per cent against the Jamaica Constabulary Force; four or 5.7 per cent against health institutions; and another eight or 11.1 per cent against other authorities.

"The cases against child care institutions and the Jamaica Constabulary Force were mainly sexual, physical abuses and matters of non-action," the OCA said. The cases against the health sector were related to children delivering babies and unaffordable health costs, the report added.

According to the report, the children most affected were those in the 14 to 17 age group (28.1 per cent), followed by the nine to 13 age group (21 per cent). The OCA, at the same time, raised concerns over the "high number of complaints received regarding infants and children less than five years old".

Children's Advocate Mary Clarke told the Observer yesterday that several of the cases were now before the court and she vowed that her office would not let up.

"That 51 per cent took place within the educational institutions -- the places where our children are supposed to be safe. We sent them (perpetrators) before the courts. We won't let it rest," Clarke said, but acknowledged that some of the cases could take "years to be tried".

However, the OCA was prepared to bide its time until the trials were over before pursuing the individuals for compensation for the victims of the abuse. "That is down the line but we won't let it rest," Clarke insisted.

The Children's Advocate said she had brought the findings of the report to the attention of Education Minister Andrew Holness and he had been "very responsive".

Clarke said Holness had already engaged regional education officers to up their monitoring of schools under their watch. In addition, she said, the minister had committed to increasing awareness among education practitioners about the Child Care and Protection Act 2004 and also remind them of the penalties under the Act for persons in contravention.

Meanwhile, of the 476 reports made directly to the OCA itself, 138 included complaints against persons in authority.

It noted, for example, that some children with disabilities were stigmatised as being stupid and sometimes punished by teachers for not following or understanding instructions.

"The OCA has received reports of children being victims of corporal punishment in schools by teachers as a result of their inability to grasp what is being taught as quickly as others," said the report.

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