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MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA – Courses at St James Excessive Faculty have been delivered to a halt on Monday following a heated confrontation between Principal Joseph Williams and Faculty Board Chairman Christopher McCurdy, marking the most recent escalation in a long-running dispute between the 2.
The college’s Mother or father-Instructor Affiliation (PTA) despatched out a closure discover to oldsters, stating that it “can’t guarantee a conducive studying surroundings till these grievances are absolutely addressed.” It stays unclear when regular faculty operations will resume.
Each Williams and McCurdy have supplied conflicting accounts of what transpired on campus.
Williams claims McCurdy disrupted a scheduled workers assembly, refused to depart when requested, and later confronted him in an aggressive and threatening method. In keeping with Williams, the altercation brought on an uproar amongst college students and workers, resulting in police being referred to as in.
“We have been having a workers assembly this morning, and he got here and disrupted it… He refused to depart. I needed to name off the assembly, after which he threatened me, pointing in my face in a threatening method. It was fairly upsetting. Even the scholars have been up in arms, saying that he must go,” Williams instructed the Jamaica Observer.
McCurdy, nevertheless, has a unique model of occasions. He alleges that Williams was the aggressor, claiming the principal threatened to hit him with a bottle and that some workers members additionally issued threats in opposition to him.
Tensions between the 2 have reportedly been brewing for years, however McCurdy mentioned issues worsened in February after it was confirmed that he would stay chairman of the college board. He additionally alleged that placards had been positioned on the faculty gate as a part of ongoing opposition to his management.
Following the incident, lecturers initially refused to return to work however resumed their duties later within the day after Williams appealed to them. Second-shift lessons ended on the common 5:30 p.m.
Nevertheless, it stays unclear when the college will absolutely reopen. The PTA has promised to maintain mother and father up to date, whereas Williams is hopeful that lessons will resume immediately (Tuesday). He emphasised the urgency of resolving the matter, noting that St James Excessive is the one faculty within the parish nonetheless working on a shift system and that college students want ample preparation time for exterior exams.
“We’ve been asking for redress from the Ministry of Schooling since final yr,” Williams mentioned. “This faculty has been doing so effectively, and we don’t need that to be thwarted.”
St James Excessive Faculty presently serves a pupil inhabitants of greater than 1,700.
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