BishopAccountability.org

Hampton principal and chairman to meet with Education Ministry

Loop
January 07, 2017

http://www.loopjamaica.com/content/hampton-principal-and-chairman-meet-education-ministry


The principal of the all-girls Hampton School, Heather Murray, who, in one move, has hit the public spotlight, has been summoned, along with the school board Chairman, Trevor Blake, to a meeting with Education, Youth and Information Minister, Ruel Reid.

The principal has come under intense public criticism, especially on social media, for having attended the bail hearing of Moravian minister, Rupert Clarke, in the St Elizabeth Parish Court on Wednesday.

Pastor Clarke appeared in court on a charge of sexual abuse of a minor, after he was allegedly caught by police personnel in a compromising position with a 15-year-old girl in a car in Austin district in St Elizabeth.

At court, Murray was noticeably photographed attempting to block journalists from taking pictures and video footage of Clarke exiting the building after the hearing..

The school principal has since issued a statement, seeking to justify her actions.

In the statement, she said she attended the court hearing in a show of support for Clarke’s wife, who has been her close friend from their childhood days.

There was no mention in the statement of her efforts to block the media from taking photographs of the accused clergyman.

Some members of the public have called for her to resign or be fired for her actions, which the school board chairman, the president of the school’s parent/teachers association, and also the president of the old girls’ association, have acknowledged to have been unfortunate, and clearly a major error in judgment as the guardian of an institution with over 1,000 mostly teenage girls.

Minister Reid, who has publicly indicated his knowledge of much of the details of the matter from media reports, is expected to undertake a full review of the development and allow due process to take place.

He said the Education Ministry is contemplating the appropriate course of action to take, considering the overall circumstances and options, including the fact that Ms Murray is up for retirement soon, having reached the official retirement age and being granted a two-year extension.




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