Daily Black Immigrant News
The Ministry of Education and Youth says it has launched an investigation to help determine protocols for school devotional exercises.
It follows an incident at Oberlin High School on Wednesday morning that forced the West Rural St Andrew-based institution to close early after a number of students began ‘acting abnormally’ during the devotional.
“While we encourage engagement in school, our school leaders have a responsibility to exercise caution regarding content and the potential impact on students, as evidenced by the reaction of students at Oberlin High School this morning,” said Education Minister Fayval Williams. in a statement on Wednesday. evening.
Williams noted the early dismissal of classes at the school after a series of events led to a disruption of normal activities there.
The minister said the school administration reported that during the devotional exercise, a teacher leading worship had an experience that included a prolonged period of “speaking in tongues”, which caused a chain reaction of similar expressions among some students.
“Some students are said to have been crushed, some have fallen to the ground. Other students and teachers tried to calm the situation, including praying with the affected children. Some were sent to the school nurse’s office,” Williams said.
The minister said that after the dedication, the students were sent to their classes.
However, the tumultuous environment caused some students to express feelings of fear and others to display what was described as “abnormal behaviour”.
The administration said that given the overall circumstances, school was dismissed at 10 a.m. and students were allowed to leave, except for those in the PATH program, who were allowed to remain on campus to collect their lunches.
NewsAmericasNow.com
