St. James High personnel committee investigating expulsion of two students

By Kimone Witter    

 

The Personnel Committee at St. James High School is to investigate the expulsion of two female students following a viral video, and submit a report to the Board by next week.

 

The school's board convened a meeting Thursday and referred the matter to the committee.

 

The students were expelled from the institution in January after a video of them kissing began doing the rounds on social media.

 

There is concern that the school failed to adhere to the Education Regulations.

 

Board chairman Christopher McCurdy said a report on the committee's findings is expected by Thursday. 

 

Mr. McCurdy also responded to the call from civil society group, Jamaicans for Justice, for the immediate reinstatement of one of the students, who has been out of school since being expelled. 

 

"Jamaicans for Justice has to check with the family first to make sure that they want to be reinstated. Who says that the parents or the students want to go back to St. James High? We don't know. So we have to look out for what is in the best interest of the students.

 

"I wrote to the regional office yesterday, asking for their intervention in making sure that the kids are taken care of in that regard, and I received a response from the director who assured me that the regional office and the ministry is moving swiftly to fix that problem," reported the board chairman. 

 

The other student was accepted at a private educational institution.