Two-year-old Doxa Etim-Esin, has been expelled from her school after her parents reported the school to the police, complaining that it neglected the toddler who sustained a face injury.
Emeka Ugwuonye, a civil rights activist who narrated the story, quoted the mother of the child as saying:
Apart from being in the school within school hours, we also paid for after school care to be provided for her until we pick her up later in the evening.
On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, I got to the school premises at about 7.30pm and upon checking her body, I noticed her right eye was bleeding. I was alarmed! I beckoned on the small boy she was left with and all he could say was….”I dont know what happened. It’s not our fault.”
At this point, I was left with no other option but to raise an alarm. The proprietress’ daughter came out and maintained that whatever happened to my daughter was not their fault. At this point, I was so traumatised to keep calm.
I kept demanding for explanations but got none. The proprietress’ husband came out at that point to say I had no right shouting in his premises and then ordered me out of his residence.
On of the daughters also flung my child’s school bags at me insisting the accident was not their fault. I reported the issue to the nearest police station and the next day, the school management was invited.
The DPO invited the teacher and she was detained. We made it plain that our displeasure was basically the fact that a 30-month-old child had an accident where adults were around and was left without even first aid treatment for the next 5hours.
To our greatest surprise, the school, on Monday, November 7, 2016, inserted a dismissal letter in her school bag which was to be effective the very next day.
The letter of Expulsion from Doxa’s School
As stated in the letter, the parents have been informed to withdraw the child from the school “in light of forestalling a repeat of such incidence”.
The letter also claimed that the toddler’s teacher has resigned from the school, adding that they took the action because they “are incapable of taking care of her (Doxa) for now, and cannot assure (the parents) of a non repeat of such incident”.
