Education Minister Ruel Reid yesterday said that the seven-year-old boy whose eye was damaged while at school is to receive State assistance.

Reid, whose statement came after Monday’s Jamaica Observer front-page story, said that he has received a report from Unity Primary School in Strathbogie, Westmoreland, about the incident, which took place on September 12.

“We’re very sorry about the incident. From the report I’ve seen they were not clear how the accident occurred. However, to the extent that the youngster was injured while in school the State has to take some responsibility,” he told the Observer.

Grade 2 student Odane Martin was left blind in his right eye after a child he was standing behind frantically threw a stick in his direction when the “break bell” rang.

His mother, Kemola Heaven, told the Observer that she was only given a cheque for $20,000 from the school’s principal to cover Odane’s medical bills.

But she said she has so far spent in excess of $100,000 on doctor’s visits, medication and hospital stays for her son.

Yesterday, Reid said that the matter has been referred to the Attorney General’s office for a ruling.

“What I have actually directed my CEO (chief education officer) to do is to follow-up with the parent and make a claim to the Attorney General’s Office so that they can make a ruling because I believe that these poor persons, the State has to ensure that we protect them as much as we can. So that has been my instruction so far,” the minister said.

The Observer had reported that Heaven asked to see the principal on the day of the incident, but was denied access to the school compound by a security guard who, at the time, was not aware that she was a parent.

The woman had also said that shortly after identifying herself, she was allowed onto the compound, but waited in vain to see the principal before leaving. She was told that the principal was busy.

Yesterday Reid told the Observer that the incident was not immediately reported to his ministry, adding that there is a protocol including filing a critical incident report.

“To be fair, what the school has said is that because they took some time to make contact with the mother, several days did in fact pass before they got a hold of her and therefore they couldn’t file a report until they had a chance to meet with the parties,” Reid noted.

The Observer contacted the school on Monday but was told by the secretary to call back as the principal was “busy in a meeting with the board chairman”. Several calls were placed yesterday without any answer.