Bishop Anstey East probes election ‘rant’ from teacher

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The management of Bishop Anstey High School East and Trinity College East (BATCE) has launched an investigation into posts made by a teacher which have been deemed by many social media users to be racist.

The teacher allegedly took to social media to vent his frustration following the People’s National Movement’s 22-19 victory over the United National Congress in Monday’s 2020 General Election.

However, the teacher soon found himself under attack by many social media users, among them some of his former students, with many labelling the posts racist.

In one post, the teacher allegedly said: “They actually celebrating that the PNM won? Oh right! Half of them only eat bread and KFC so the price of groceries wouldn’t matter to them.”

Another comment noted: “This is what happens when you give the uneducated masses the right to vote… they make a mess of things.”

However, in the wave of criticism that followed, one of the teacher’s former students wrote: “To think that you were one of the few teachers I looked up to at Bishops! Seeing your views about ‘the blank PNM supporters who only eat bread and KFC’ doesn’t surprise me or make me upset! … Because of you and your teaching, a lot of us ‘Blank folk’ are in positions now, where we can walk into schools and take your place. Therefore, I believe seeing that it has all these qualified people who are capable of teaching the future generation without hate, disgust and malice in their hearts, I believe people like you should not be teaching and if you still are a teacher, I would make it my business to make sure that you are not allowed to walk onto any school compound in any part of Trinidad or Tobago ever again.”

In a media release on the issue, seemingly after several stakeholders contacted management about the furore on social media, BATCE management said it had noted the allegations made against the teacher and was probing the matter.

Saying it prided itself on being an all-inclusive institution, BATCE said, “We value the diversity of our country, and encourage the appropriate and responsible use of technology and social media.

“We are cognisant of the right to freedom of expression enshrined in our Constitution and have always underscored that such freedom comes with responsibilities.”