TTUTA second vice-president Lynsley Doodhai and clinical therapist Hanef Benjamin say schools are failing our children.Triggering that accusation last week were the brutal murders of Jamal Brathwaite and Jadel Holder, executed in their home in front of their mother in an incident that caused shock waves to ripple throughout society and to wash ashore on the school system.
NPTA president Zena Ramatali echoed those views, noting that these were school-age children who were being accused of being involved in gang activities.While there is yet to be conclusive evidence offered that either child was a gang member, their executions were shocking and the concern about their attendance at school is a matter that should be decisively investigated.
The killing of children didn't stop there. On Monday, cousins Hakeem and Tevin Alexander, teenagers from Chinapoo Village, were shot during an incident with police and died on arrival at Port-of-Spain General Hospital. The cousins, described as innocent by their parents and as troublemakers by neighbours, were involved in an alleged shootout with police.
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