Switching gears, yesterday we asked the BNTU president, Elena Smith, her thoughts on the situation at Canaan SDA High School. As we've reported, a male teacher exhibited predatory behavior towards a female student over social media, and the parents had taken the matter to the principal.
Smith had explained that while they don't condone any such actions, they are mandated to support the teacher to ensure that the due process is being followed and that he is not being taken advantage of.
After hearing the comments, the Canaan student's father came back to the media to express his views on Smith's comments. He began by explaining that according to the Education Amendment Rules 2012, sexual abuse and sexual harassment are major offenses, and managing authorities can place teachers on administrative leave if they are accused of such offenses.
He then emphasized that the school had done nothing about the situation for an entire week after it had been reported, and did not inform the ministry until after the media was alerted.
The father - who remains anonymous to protect his daughter - now feels that Smith should withdraw her comments. Here's what he told us today via WhatsApp.
He also told us that he has a meeting scheduled with the ministry tomorrow evening.
