Posted December, 9th, 2012
The question is do schools have a right to
interfere with the constitutional right of privacy for a student, regardless if
there is a moral disagreement. This was at the heart of the problem when it was
reported that the Pallotti High School had expelled a student in the
Amandala newspaper on 30th, January. 2009. The amandala reported
the news this way:
Amandala is reliably informed that the student had already had
a suspension prior to last December’s incident, when she was allegedly
confronted on campus by a woman over a relationship with her husband (with whom
she has 7 children). If the allegations are true, it would amount to a violation
of Pallotti’s school rules, which stipulate that students are not even supposed
to have boyfriends. After the incident, the student was suspended—making a
second suspension. Under school rules, two suspensions equal an automatic
expulsion….source(http://amandala.com.bz/news/pallotti-discipline-uproar/)
Television reports previous to this on 28th
January of 2009 was that a student had to get an injunction so that she
could return to school. The issue as reported by channel five was the following:
a student’s family has taken the
administration of the all-girls Pallotti High School to court. The matter began
in December when a fourth form student was expelled from the school for
breaking a rule which pertains to spiritual life. Unhappy with the
administration’s decision, the teen’s parents hired a lawyer and took the
matter the court.
See link for full story….http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/2632….
The result of the parent standing up for the right
of their daughter right to an education and getting an injunction was a
teacher strike on January 29th, 2009. The order called for the
following:
the order specifically states that the
defendants, meaning Pallotti High School, the principal and the board of
governors are not in any time to prevent the claimant from attending Pallotti
High School in uniform and in particular not to prevent her from attending
regular studies and classes or be prevented in any form or fashion the claimant
from attending her exams and any regular classes. So when they go on strike
they’re in contempt of this order…
What this case points out is that many schools have school rules that are
unconstitutional. The lawyer Audrey Matura shepherd explains in her channel
five interview the following:
“The very school I was dealing with again lately, they
have a rule that says if they suspect a child is pregnant, they can take the
child to a doctor of their choice and the child will be accompanied but two
teachers—not the parents—and the parent is to pay the bill but cant be present.
And if it is proven that the child is pregnant, that child will be expelled
immediately. But if the child refuses, that by itself constitutes a ground to
be expelled immediately. Now that is totally unconstitutional. The constitution
protects the right to privacy so they have to respect that person’s privacy.”
The Ministry of Education on 2nd February, 2009 responded to the Pallotti
High School student being expelled and before the courts in the following way
in a channel seven news story through a release:
…“the Ministry of
Education takes very seriously that discipline in our schools must be fair and
just to all parties concerned and must be consistent with the constitution of
Belize. The role of the Ministry of Education is (to) ensure that schools
provide an environment that is nurturing for all students but on the other hand
ensure that the rights of the individual student are protected.” The
release said the Ministry would not comment further as the case is before the courts.
source:( http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=13261)
In this case, the door is open for other students to challenge unjust school rules and bring social change to the system. Time will tell if this becomes a reality.