WILLEMSTAD – A former member of Parliament and convicted individual has written an open letter from prison to the Minister of Education, raising serious concerns about safety in schools following a recent incident at the Römer School.
In the letter, he describes a situation in which tensions escalated after a teacher assigned a student disciplinary work. According to his account, the following day the student’s father entered the school in anger, walked into the classroom, and verbally abused the teacher in front of students.
The incident reportedly had severe consequences. The teacher became unwell shortly afterward, showed signs of partial paralysis, and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance.
The former MP described the situation as unacceptable and warned that such behavior should not be tolerated in Curaçao. He also pointed out that the issue of school safety has been raised for years, with calls from education union representatives for structural security measures to better protect teachers.
In the letter, he expressed concern that law enforcement is often only able to intervene once situations have already escalated and physical harm has occurred.
He is urging the Minister of Education to treat school safety as a top priority and to move quickly toward implementing structural security at schools across the island. The letter also calls on Parliament to consider legislative changes that would allow police to act more swiftly and effectively in similar situations.
The incident has reignited the discussion around safety in educational environments and the need for preventive measures to protect both teachers and students.