ST JAMES, Jamaica – Embattled principal of St James High School, Joseph Williams has denied that he expelled two female students from the institution.

“No students were expelled. Nothing like that,” he told Observer Online before noting he had to go attend a sports day parade.

The students’ mothers complained that their daughters were booted in January after one of the girls posted a GIF of the teenagers kissing on her WhatsApp status.

School board chairman Christopher McCurdy later made it clear that the body had approved no expulsions since he took over the helm in 2022 and that Williams had acted without its approval.

The school board met Thursday afternoon and the matter was referred to the board’s personnel committee. The board is expected to know within a week the outcome of the investigation. The Ministry of Education has also launched its own probe.

“The nature of the meeting was to refer the situation to the personnel committee for them to do an investigation to see what the nature of the situation is,” McCurdy told Observer Online following that meeting.

McCurdy disclosed that one of the girls had enrolled in a private school earlier this month, while the other remained out of school. He further stated that the Ministry of Education had been approached to provide support to the affected students and their parents.

“We are in dialogue with the parents of both kids. We are doing everything that we can to ensure that they are taken care of in terms of their well-being. I have written to the regional office of the Ministry of Education just today, requesting that immediate intervention be carried out for both kids to ensure their mental health,” he said.

“When a child is displaced from school for an extended period, it can take a toll on their mental ability. So, that is one of the things I requested of the ministry: for them to move quickly in assisting these students and parents as well with some level of counselling. We hope that they can be placed in an institution for learning as quickly as possible,” stated McCurdy.

He is hoping that the student who is still not enrolled in a school will be placed in an institution by Monday.

-Anthony Lewis