St Joseph Convent Kingstown students suspended for cyber-bullying

by Christina Smith

A handful of students from the St Joseph Convent Kingstown (SJCK), were reportedly disciplined for comments made on social media, with the action taken by school administration also affecting the award of special duties.

The disciplinary action, in the form a three-day suspension, was as a result that the students allegedly cyber-bullied a teacher by posting comments of “malicious” intent.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that between four to six SJCK students were sent home from September 9, 2024 when school re-opened, to September 12. The suspension letter, which was posted to social media earlier this week, shows the reason given for the suspension as “cyberbulling/reposting and commenting on a teacher’s photo with malicious intentions”.

The comments referred to in the notice originated from a raunchy photo posted by a teacher to her personal Instagram account showing her in a two-piece bikini with her legs straddling a male in a swimming pool. The man’s face is not visible in the photo, but part of the teacher’s face is seen looking toward the camera.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that the award ceremony for school prefects is slated to take place on September 13, and some of the suspended students were to be appointed as Prefects, and one was listed to be the Head Girl. The students will reportedly be offered lower roles than what was previously assigned before the incident.

Screenshots of the comments made by the students have been circulating on social media with one saying, “Well I think she should get called in for not setting an example to the young females of sjck, don’t yall think we should uphold the rules.”

Another screenshot showed that a student reposted the image saying, “[Teacher’s name] going on?”

The issue has since escalated to the public sphere with many offering differing opinions on if the action taken against the students was excessive.

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) Oswald Robinson, offered a comment on the issue encouraging teachers to maintain a high level of professionalism “even in the cyberspace”.

He described the situation as a “very sensitive issue”, adding, it may be difficult to make a judgment on it.

“Whether a person is part of the Union or not, we encourage them to stay within the code of ethics,” Robinson commented.