Four teachers from the Escuela Secondaria Tecnica Mexico High School of San Roman, Corozal District, are to be subjected to punitive measures which were recommended for them – six weeks suspension without pay.
The punishment was recommended by the school’s board of directors at the conclusion of the investigation carried out by the school, and the board, into the deaths of two 4th form students, Anahi Zepeda and Edgar Puck, who drowned in the Macal River near the wooden bridge in San Ignacio when they were washed away by strong currents.
The tragedy occurred while the students were on a brief stop at the river while returning home from a school trip to the Che Chem Maya Caves in the Benque Viejo area on Friday evening, April 4 of this year.
The school’s board of directors announced today that “An intensive investigation was conducted, and the Board has unanimously agreed that the four teachers who accompanied the students erred in modifying the itinerary during the educational trip.”
The board has recommended that the teachers, whose names were not released, be suspended without pay for a period not exceeding six weeks, in accordance with Rule 97 (1) (c). The matter has been submitted to the Teaching Service Commission.
Police reports are that at about 4:00 p.m. Friday, April 4, they responded to reports of a double drowning of two high school students in the Macal River in an area about 300 yards down from the low-lying wooden bridge in San Ignacio.
On their arrival in the area, a teacher of Escuela Secundaria Mexico, San Roman, told police that at about 3:30 p.m. the 4th form students stopped to wash themselves at the wooden bridge. While they were in the river, a female student, Anahi Zepeda, 15, of San Joaquin, went under the water and did not resurface.
Edgar Puck, also a 4th form student, of Patchakan, who was nearby when Zepeda was dragged down by the currents, tried to help her, and in so doing, he also went down and did not resurface.
Puck’s body was found near the bank and at about 5:24 that same evening, Zepeda’s body was found further down the river.
Added to the 6 weeks suspension of the teachers, the board also recommended that the teachers pay a fine, as per the relevant section and subsection applicable to their conduct.