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Primary school student left bleeding and bruised after punishment

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An incident which left a student of the St Michael’s Primary School bleeding and bruised after she was punished by a teacher, is being investigated by the Ministry of Education. This was confirmed by the Director of Education Clare Browne, who spoke to Observer on Friday.

“Currently, the Ministry of Education is investigating the matter. I have called a meeting with the principal and the teacher in question, the parent and the child. That meeting is set for Monday morning,” Browne revealed.

According to the upset mother, her 12-year-old daughter returned home on Wednesday with bleeding wounds on her back and arm. The mother explained that she initially thought that the sixth grader was cutting herself, but when she inquired, the child explained that an elderly teacher beat her with a belt across her back.

The child told her mother that everyone was getting ready to say their prayers before leaving school and placed their bags on their backs and fixed their desks as usual, but the teacher asked them to remove their bags. In the child’s account of the incident, she removed her backpack but was holding her lunch bag in her hand.

The teacher then sent for a belt which she used to lash the child so hard that it penetrated two layers of clothing. “I don’t understand where she gets the strength to lick my daughter like that,” the aggrieved mother said. As a result, the mother said she reported the matter to the police.

In 2019, the Ministry of Education released its punishment guidelines which spoke to the use of a Punishment Book that records the name of the student, the infraction by the student, the punishment administered, and the person who administered it.

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As it relates to the administration of corporal punishment, the guidelines state that a principal of a primary school, or a designate, can use a leather strap no longer than 24 inches, one and a quarter inches wide and no more than a quarter inch thick to administer strokes on their buttocks.

But the student should be informed of the reason he/she is being punished and how many strokes they will receive.

Primary school students cannot receive more than four strokes, the guidelines also indicate. Observer first learnt of the incident on Thursday evening when a relative of the student reached out and shared images of the wounds. DAILY OBSERVER

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]