Ministry to probe alleged Mortein spray case
An officer from the Ministry of Education has been tasked with writing a report concerning an alleged incident where a Year Two student had her eyes sprayed with chemicals from a can of Mortein.
The alleged incident took place at a school in Nadroga, on Monday where a student, while allegedly spraying the classroom using a Mortein product, had sprayed it onto the victim’s eyes.
Minister for Education Mahendra Reddy, said he was aware of the alleged incident and that the officer was expected to provide him with a full report.
Fiji Sun made attempts to speak to the victim’s parents yesterday, but they declined to comment on the matter.
However, Fiji Sun obtained a copy of the sick sheet that the student offered when she was examined by the doctor after her parents took her to the hospital.
In a Facebook posting, a parent of the child claimed that no teacher or head teacher took her child to the doctor immediately, but told her to wash her eyes and sit in the classroom instead.
Mr Reddy said they would investigate this and to see if there was indeed any delay.
The minister is also calling on parents to take responsibility for disciplining their children and to teach them about the environment when they are with other children. “Now this incident occurred because the children were just playing around and children are playful and they don’t understand what impact their act has on other, so that is why it is not a deliberate act and it is mischievous from the part of the child,” he said.
“We will counsel the child and we want the parents to pay more attention.”