THE Disciplinary Committee of the Calabar High School board is meeting today to decide if further action should be taken against eight boys who have been accused of fondling a female teacher during a drama class last Thursday.

The boys — all grade eight students and in the 13-14 age group — are currently on a 10-day suspension and will know their fate after today’s meeting, according to the school’s principal, Captain Lincoln Thaxter.

“After the meeting we will be able to give full details of the accusations and the investigations and tell what the outcome will be,” Captain Thaxter told the Observer.

Allegations are that the boys were part of a drama group which was meeting at the school after regular classes last Thursday

According to one third-form student, the female drama teacher was fondled while making a presentation during which she was blindfolded.

“I understand she was acting out a scene while blindfolded when a group of boys betted who could touch her,” he told the Observer yesterday. “One boy got up and fondled her and the other boys joined in.”

It is reported that the drama teacher was able to ward off the boys with the aid of other students who fought off the accused.

The incident was reported to the school’s principal who suspended the eight boys on Monday for “inappropriate conduct”.

“The boys have been suspended for 10 days because that it is the maximum I can authorise to give,” said the principal, adding that the board would have to get enough time to investigate the matter and to decide what the final outcome would be.

He, however, declined to give details of the incident, saying such actions may “prejudice the hearing” of the boys — some of whom are represented by lawyers.

“Giving too much details may have legal implications,” he explained.

Thaxter had earlier denied media reports of sexual assault on the teacher saying the reports were “totally incorrect”.

“There was no rape incident, but there was some inappropriate conduct,” he explained.

This latest incident has added to other disciplinary problems which have plagued the Red Hills Road school.

In May 2002, a security guard from Atlas Protection Limited who saw a boy with a gun while on duty at the school was stabbed 13 times in the head, back and neck by a group of boys who tagged him an informer.

The guard, who survived his injuries, was also robbed by the boys.

Meanwhile, several boys at the school were accused of disrupting classes at Merle Grove and Holy Childhood high schools last April while trying to ring up support for their team to the VMBS Boys and Girls Athletic Championship.

The accusations were however, later denied by then acting principal, Hugh Douse, who said those involved were supporters and not actual students at the school.

Yesterday, Thaxter said the latest incident has caused the school to take a closer and more serious look at indiscipline at the school.

“Calabar has had a series of unfortunate events over a relatively short time and some are still fresh in the public’s memory,” he told the Observer. “But the school is taking a very serious look at discipline at the school and one of the strategies we are using is to sensitise the parents to the different problems facing their children and the different pressures they are under so that together we can work out a programme to address some of these social and psychological problems.”

Thaxter, who assumed his present position at the school in July of this year, headed the Titchfield High School in Portland for 10 years. Yesterday, he said it was the first time as a school head that he was faced with such a situation.

“This is something totally unacceptable and represents a general breakdown of discipline in our society,” he told the Observer. “And, as a school we have to find ways and means of curbing these bad behaviours.”