School denies aiding bullying, indiscipline among pupils

Grace High School, Gbagada, Lagos State, say bullying as an act of indiscipline and intimidation, has not, and would never be condoned in the school.

Administrator of the school, Mrs. Tokunbo Edun, in reacting to a recent report, which alleged that a Junior Secondary School (JSS1) pupil of the school was bullied, and in the process sustained a leg fracture insisted that nothing of such happened as the school has zero-tolerance for such act.

Speaking at a media briefing, Edun stressed that the publication was a misrepresentation of what actually happened, and was done with malice.

Maintaining that the school has never defaulted in its core responsibility of total commitment to the wellbeing of pupils, she said, “We have zero-tolerance for bullying. Our focus is on providing qualitative education to every student. The school does not, and will not condone bullying. We know our responsibilities towards each child and have never been found wanting. What was reported earlier was a misrepresentation of the school.”

Edun, who is also a trustee of the Association of Private Educators of Nigeria (APEN), described the report as unfortunate, embarrassing and uncalled for.

Vice Principal (Administration) of the school, Mr. Philip Balogun, described the incident as an accident as and not a case of bullying.

“The child was returning from the dinning hall on Friday, April 15, 2016, to meet up with her colleagues. While running, as it rained that day, all of a sudden, she slipped and fell backwards on her heel. Later, she claimed that somebody pushed her. A mathematics teacher was coming with them from the dinning hall, who witnessed what happened informed that no student pushed her.”

“Immediately the incident occurred, we rushed the child to the clinic and contacted her mother, who demanded that her child should be brought home to her, as she and her husband are medical practitioners, who can take better care of their child.”