A mother who says her son has been repeatedly targeted by bullies at his school is urging the administrators of the prominent Corporate Area-based institution to deal with what she claims is a major problem facing its students.

Keneshia Ferron fears that her son, a 10th grade student, could suffer long-term injury from the last attack to which he was subjected by a group of boys as he is still having headaches and showing signs of memory loss.

Ferron told the Jamaica Observer that a group of students ambushed her son and placed a bag over his face before hitting him repeatedly in the head.

According to the worried mother, her son was left unconscious for some time as a result of the blows.

Even more troubling for her, is the fact that she is not sure that disciplinary action has been taken against any of the students said to be responsible.

The mother is also worried that there could be a cover up by the school as it is said that the students who bullied her son are athletes.

“It’s a case where I got a call from the nurse one day because my son was unconscious. They said I have to take him to the hospital to seek further checks. His head was bagged from behind by a couple of students and he was beaten in the head. When I went down to the school, he was lying down in the nurse’s office and his eyes were swollen. You could see there was trauma.

“This happened in November thereabout and from November to now they have not got a grip on the students involved. They said they would set up meetings with me and the parents and whatever I spend at the hospital would be reimbursed. The dean of discipline said she did an investigation and got some names.

“The names she got, she did interviews with them. One set said they don’t know about it and another set said they didn’t do it. I told her it was better to gather all the students and send out letters to their parents asking them to come in. How you find time to idle and a lick people pickney? That is bullyism and it’s not the first time this happened to him,” charged Ferron.

According to Ferron, since the incident, her son has become forgetful at times. She said that it might not affect him in a major way at the moment, but expressed worry that that could begin to happen later down the road.

“Persons in the school are telling me not to drop it. The school needs to take out the bullies, not because they play sports. Make an example of them so others can see that they are not standing for bullyism. What if I were a type of parent who grab one of the youth them and when mi hold him, I just beat him to sickness. What would happen? It would not stop, it would continue. We need to get rid of bullyism out of schools. You go to school to learn,” she said pointing out that her son is not a troublemaker.

“You are beating up on my child and he is not a rough youth or a youth that gives trouble. His thing is phone and laptop.”

Ferron told the Observer that she is convinced that the school is giving her the run around.

She also claimed that there have been subsequent attempts to bully her son as recently his phone was stolen and when he pointed out the alleged culprit he was threatened.

“Another thing came up again where another student messaged him telling him that he should leave a girl alone. I got the number from my son and called the youth and told him that any time he is ready, he should put a finger on my child because this time around I am not going to wait on any dean of discipline.

“He was telling me that he was just trying to make him afraid. My son told me that he is afraid and doesn’t want to go back to the school, but where am I going to send him? You can’t have your youth a go school and instead of learning he is afraid because other people pickney come to school as bullies.

“I went to the police station and the police told me that a couple students from the school and their parents came to the station for similar issues. They don’t seem to be doing what they are supposed to do at the school and the police keep sending me back to the school because they say the school has to call them. My son still has headaches now and then and he still doesn’t remember certain things same way,” Ferron said.

Efforts to get a comment from the school have so far been unsuccessful.

The problem of bullying in Jamaica’s school has long been a cause for concern among parents and administrators.

Last September a disturbing video of a male student being brutally bullied and punched by another sparked outrage, prompting the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) to intervene.

Days earlier Laurette Adams-Thomas, chief executive officer of the CPFSA, in her back-to-school message, urged basic, primary, and high school students to put an end to bullying as she emphasised the importance of safety, unity, and mutual respect among students.

“No child should have to endure the pain of bullying. And it is not just the victims who suffer. Those who bully others are also at risk of long-term negative effects, including social isolation and increased aggression. It’s time to break this cycle and create a safer, more supportive school environment for everyone,” Adams-Thomas said.