ST JAMES, Jamaica — President of the Corinaldi Primary School’s Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) Conard Robinson has voiced his support for the school administration’s decision to suspend most classes until the Easter break.

The decision was made after a parent allegedly beat the school’s security guard on Monday afternoon.

Scores of children at the primary school were left traumatized on Monday afternoon following an incident where a parent used a baton to inflict several blows to the body of a security officer at the institution.

READ: Shock as parent beats security guard at Corinaldi Primary

“We cannot continue like this,” Robinson told OBSERVER ONLINE on Tuesday morning. “We can’t afford for parents to come and do as they have a mind. We have rules at the institution and because we have rules at the institution we are standing by those rules.”

The alleged attack took place in full view of students, some of whom burst into tears and begged their parents to save the guard. Robinson said other schools have reported run-ins with parents at their institutions as well.

“Everybody is still upset. I have parents from the neighbouring school — that’s Montego Bay Infant — teachers from the neighbouring school calling my phone. They are upset because they say it’s the same thing that some parents want to do at the institution; to come on the property and do what they want to do,” the PTA head said.

He added that the security guard who was injured Monday is still receiving medical care.

“The update that I got is that the security [guard] was still at the hospital and he was still receiving the drip and he’s supposed to do a scan of the brain,” he said.

Reports from those who said they witnessed the alleged attack are that about 4:15 pm, the parent made his way onto the compound to pick up his child who is a grade one student. It is said that, because parents are not allowed on the school compound without an appointment, the security guard tried to escort the parent back to the gate.

The parent allegedly disarmed the security guard of his baton and used it to inflict several blows to the guard’s body.

In the hours following the incident, school administrators informed parents and guardians that classes would be suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday, while on Thursday, only grade six students preparing to sit the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) will be allowed at school.

According to Robinson, the PTA is in full support of the move which they hope will send a message to parents that this type of behaviour is not acceptable.

The parent allegedly involved in Monday’s incident, he said, had been quite disrespectful to teachers who tried to intervene and insinuated that he could not be penalised for his actions.

Robinson is calling for the appropriate sanctions to be levelled against the parent but pointed out that, since yesterday, he has not heard of any charges being laid against him.