Court rules

A High Court judge has lifted an injunction that allowed a 14-year-old student to continue her education at St. Joseph’s Convent Kingstown (SJCK) until a lawsuit filed by her mother is heard on November 15. Justice Gertel Thom gave the order but told the parties that she would give the reasons for her decision in a written judgement at a later date. The Form 4 student was reportedly expelled from school last year after writing a rude comment about her teacher. Attorney Jomo Thomas, acting on behalf of the student’s mother had filed a lawsuit against the school’s principal, two Ministry of Education (MOE) officials, and the MOE itself. Over the weekend, Justice Wesley James at an interparty hearing in chambers ordered that the unidentified child remains in school and granted Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan seven days within which to file a claim form. The judge also gave the respondents 28 days within which to respond and scheduled hearing of the substantive matter for November 15. However, within a few hours of the court order, the Attorney General filed another application asking that the court set side both the orders, respectively. Justice Frederick Bruce-Lyle ruled on September 20 that the student continues classes at SJCK until the lawsuit is heard. Justice Wesley James upheld the injunction on Friday against an application by Attorney-General Judith Jones-Morgan that it be overturned. But on Monday, Justice Thom lifted the application. Earlier, students at the SJCK, armed with placards, took to the schoolyard in protest as they made it known that they do not want the 14-year-old as a schoolmate at the Catholic school.

Courtesy: www.cananewsonline.com