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Deputy Chief Education Officer Dr Roderick Rudder wants students to beware of the negative effects of social media.

social media warning

STUDENTS are being urged to beware of the negative effects of social media.

This warning is coming from the Deputy Chief Education Officer, Dr Roderick Rudder, who spoke out about a video circulating on social media, showing the hair of a 15-year-old student from a rural secondary school being set ablaze by a male student while they were at a bus stop.

Students could be heard laughing in the video, which is just seconds long. The incident took place after school.

The blaze was extinguished by another student and no injuries were received. The perpetrator was charged, appeared in Court yesterday, and was remanded to the Governmental Industrial School.

“You recognise how swiftly there was an intervention by law enforcement? So while it might have been an ‘interesting prank’ and it was ‘fun’, it now has turned into a serious legal challenge for that particular young man.

“So while it could have been done, and no one might have known about it, social media has brought it to the attention of everyone at the national level,” he said.

“And while he would not have expected to be in the arms of the law so quickly, it is because of the negative impact of social media, that he was so swiftly brought to what I would say is a Christian understanding that you have to do the right thing,” Dr Rudder further stated.

The Deputy Chief Education Officer spoke briefly about the incident, as he delivered remarks during the Alexandra School Speech Day and Awards Ceremony, held at the St Peter based institution yesterday.

Minister of Education Ronald Jones, and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Senator Harcourt Husbands, were among officials that attended the ceremony where students, past and present, were awarded for their outstanding performance in academics and sports.

Dr Rudder, who addressed the ceremony’s theme, Excellence is a Journey, not a Destination, reminded the awardees that they must set themselves appropriate goals that would lead them to excellence.

He told them that the failure to set goals can lead them in any direction, which is why it is imperative that they should be very clear, as to what they want to achieve in life.

“A slightly different journey will be started as long as you complete your education here at the Alexandra school. Therefore, I wish to encourage now, not just the students, but your parents, to focus some attention on the levels of support that would be necessary to guide and chart the appropriate path, once the protection of the four walls of this institution are no longer there.

“The journey beyond this institution will become more challenging. But you have to be prepared to meet the challenges head on, while staying focus on the goals that you have set, and the things that you want to achieve. As you embark on a different part of your education and life journey, beyond the Alexandra school,” he advised. (AH)

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