A secondary school teacher in Antigua is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly striking a student in the head with a rock.
But the Antigua & Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) is asking police to review the charge, contending that it is too severe given the circumstances of the incident.
Vendiz Charles, a 26-year-old Physics teacher at the Clare Hall Secondary School, was granted EC$10,000 (US$3,703) bail by the High Court yesterday after appearing in the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court for the attempted murder of 14-year-old Akeem Scotland.
Scotland had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Mount St John’s Medical Centre on January 24 with a fractured skull. Reports indicate that the teen was riding his bicycle on the school compound, after hours, when he was struck in the head with a stone. He was discharged from hospital last weekend.
The A&BUT acknowledged that Charles’ alleged action was irresponsible, but in a statement said: “While we respect and support the work and professionalism of the police, we strongly beg to disagree that there was any malice in the teacher’s action that would support the conclusion that there was intent to murder that student or any other, by the teacher in question”. (Caribbean360.com)
