Education Minister Sonia Parag on Thursday visited Zeeburg Secondary School on the West Coast of Demerara after a viral video showed a boy in uniform being assaulted by several young men.
Parag said in a Facebook post that she, along with Ministers Deodat Indar and Vickash Ramkisson, went to the school to speak with students and teachers in response to the footage, which she described as disturbing.
“A stricter stance will be taken,” Parag said, adding that the incident was among several cases circulating on social media.
The widely shared video of this incident shows a boy wearing Zeeburg Secondary uniform, surrounded by four young men, being slapped and beaten. In the footage, as the boy is beaten with a cutlass, the boy is heard pleading with his attacker not to chop him.
The video has sparked outrage about youth violence and bullying in Guyana, as similar videos from other schools have emerged online in recent weeks. Some viral videos showed children in school uniform engaged in or being victims of violence and/or bullying. Authorities, Parag said, were not treating the matter lightly.
