The Ministry of Education and Youth has launched an investigation to help determine the protocols for school devotional exercises.

“While we encourage devotion in school, our school leaders have a responsibility to exercise caution as to content and likely impact on students as evidenced by the reaction of students at Oberlin High School this morning,” Fayval Williams, minister of education and youth, said in a statement this evening (October 26).

Williams comments follow the early dismissal of classes at the St Andrew-based high school today after a series of events led to a disruption of normal activities.

The school administration reported that, during the devotional exercise this morning, a teacher who was leading the worship had an experience that included an extended period of “speaking in tongues” and which triggered a chain reaction of similar expression among some students.

Some students reportedly became overwhelmed, some falling to the ground. Other students and teachers attempted to bring calm to the situation, including praying with the affected children. Some were taken to the school nurse’s office.

After the devotions, students were sent to classes. However, the heightened agitated environment led to some students expressing being afraid and others showing what was described as “abnormal behaviour”.

The administration said that, given the circumstances, school was dismissed at 10:00 am and students were allowed to leave except for those on PATH who were allowed to stay on the compound to collect their lunches.

It has been a difficult month for Oberlin as, just over a week ago, the school was in the news due to an October 4 incident in which a student was caught on camera assaulting a classmate.

The incident led Williams, at the time, to publicly reiterate a call for students and parents to use the reporting channels to advise of acts of indiscipline or aggression so that the established disciplinary framework can be activated to address disputes.

As a result of the incident, one student, identified as the agressor, was suspended for seven days and referred for counselling.

According to the ministry, the child who was slapped was also set to enter a counselling programme “to deal with the trauma of the situation”.