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www.abplgroup.com
Dee Katwa
Asian Voice - Saturday 13th August 2011
Midland Voice Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com
Chaos in the Classroom Discipline, or rather the lack of it, in West Midland schools has become a serious issue, it has emerged. According to Government data, 578 schoolchildren were expelled and more than 28,000 were suspended from the region’s classrooms for reasons including physical or verbal abuse towards teachers and fellow classmates, bullying and drink and drugs. During the 2009-10 academic year, a total of 28,815 pupils – that’s 148 learners a day - were suspended or permanently excluded at Midland schools. The figures from the Department for Education come as Schools Minister Nick Gibb vowed to get tough on disruptive pupils with a series of measures to put head teachers and teachers back in control of the classroom. They
include clearer guidance and increased search powers for head teachers. In Birmingham, 201 children were expelled from school last year, including 102 for physical or verbal abuse towards teachers or fellow students, 64 for “persistent disruptive behaviour” and nine for reasons relating to drugs and alcohol. Birmingham City Council, Europe’s largest local authority, has now pledged to work together with teachers, school support staff and parents to address this issue. A spokesman said: “It is important that bad behaviour is not tolerated. Sometimes a young person who has gone
Teen killed in road collision A Birmingham teenager killed in a road accident outside his school has been named as Rajinder Mahal. He was 16. Rajinder, pictured, the youngest of six children, from Smethwick, was involved in a collision with a Suzuki motorbike outside Lordswood Boys School in Hagley Road, Edgbaston, at 9.50pm last Monday. He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he later died. The 39-year-old biker was uninjured but suffered shock. Bouquets of flowers have since been left at the scene. One friend, Jack, wrote: “You have left this world way too early but you have given so many people memories of you which will last forever.” Another card read: “I’ll miss your trainers being in my way as I come through the front door.” More than 300 people have joined a memorial group on Facebook and paid tribute to Rajinder’s ‘kind and generous personality’. Witnesses to the accident should call West Midlands Police’s collision investigation unit on 0345 113 5000.
Drug smugglers jailed A father and son from Birmingham who smuggled £7.5 million of heroin hidden in chilli powder from Pakistan have been jailed. Gulab Mohammed, 51, and his son Khalid, 29, from Small Heath, were snared by border officials who inspected the suspicious spices at an industrial unit in Shropshire. The pair were convicted of drug smuggling following a five-day hearing at Birmingham Crown Court last Friday. Gulab, pictured left, was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment and Khalid, pictured right, to 19 years.
Measles cases rise Measles cases in the West Midlands have more than doubled in the past year, according to the Health Protection Agency. It confirmed 30 youngsters caught the potentially deadly virus in the first six months of 2011 – compared to 13 in the whole of last year. Nationally, there have been 654 victims of measles since January, compared to 374 in 2010.
down a destructive path, perhaps by mixing with the wrong peer group, needs a second chance to get back on track.” He said exclusion was always a “last resort” adding, “in Birmingham we seek to give them that second chance and the support needed to make the most of their education and help them become the good citizens of tomorrow.” Sandwell had 64 permanent exclusions – including 14 for physical or verbal abuse and 20 for disruptive behaviour and more than 2,300 students were hit with suspensions. Sandwell Council education chief Councillor Bob Badham said reduc-
ing that number was a “top priority” for the borough and that the number of suspensions had fallen by more than two-thirds between 2008-09 and 2009-10. Schools in Staffordshire recorded a total of 113 permanent exclusions, compared to 66 in Solihull, 57 in Dudley and 51 in Worcester. Walsall expelled 26 students, including five for physical assaults against adults, and suspended a further 2,565. Has your child been sent home from school for bad behaviour? Also, every parent, peer wishes their child to have good discipline, but many fail in their attempts to achieve this. Why? Email me your experiences, thoughts, views.
Firearm offender caged A "dangerous" man from Birmingham has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years after being found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. Rakesh Kumar, 23, pictured, of South Road, Hockley, was sentenced last Friday - following his conviction at a hearing in June - in connection with a shooting outside his home last October. The victim, aged 18, has since recovered from his gunshot injuries.
MP’s new book on phone scandal Tom Watson, the West Midlands MP who led the campaign to expose newspaper phone hacking, is to write a book setting out his side of the story. The Labour MP, pictured, for West Bromwich East has signed a deal with publishers Penguin Press, to be published by the end of the year.
Cash as confetti on celebrities
News in Brief Sell your kidney for £28k proposal People should be allowed to sell their kidneys for £28,000 to tackle a severe shortage of donors, a senior research fellow at the University of Dundee has suggested. Sue Rabbitt Roff says it is time to pilot “paid provision” of live kidneys in the UK, under “strict rules of access and equity”. In Birmingham, only 17% - amounting to 180,000 – have signed up to the organ donor register, against 29% nationally.
Thieves steal church bell Nowadays, not even places of worship are spared. In Birmingham, shameless thieves have stolen an historic church bell from St Gabriel’s in Weoley Castle. The bell was only discovered missing when warden John Orchard tried to ring it for a Sunday service, only to find total silence. In some parts of the city, metal thefts are reaching epidemic proportions and it is believed that those responsible for stealing the bell were keen to cash in on a substantial piece of scrap metal.
Robber jailed A Birmingham robber who broke into a family home then forcibly removed jewellery worth over £1,000 from one of the occupants has been jailed for seven years. Kwame Giwa, 21, from Kings Norton, and his unknown accomplice broke into the home in Weoley Castle then assaulted the father and his male friend. Kwame, pictured, was found guilty of robbery at Birmingham Crown Court last Friday.
New forum for divorcees A divorce help group is being launched in Birmingham. Divorce Recovery Workshops is a charity which aims to help partners through a break-up by guiding them through sessions. The launch comes as 38% of first marriages and 70% of second unions end in divorce.
Membership withdrawn An estate agent with three convictions for fraud has been expelled from voluntary membership of The Property Ombudsman scheme. In January, Amerjit Singh Dhuga, the owner of wli.uk.com, was fined £3,120, with £3,417 costs, for 26 offences that included fraudulent use of the TPO and OFT logos on his website.
One in 11 cars ‘clocked’
Cash-strapped Birmingham City Council spent nearly £100,000 hiring celebrities to attend its functions over the past five years. Many were engaged as speakers, while others were used to promote the city at a host of sporting and cultural occasions. Those booked include Dame Kelly Holmes, Britain’s Got Talent novelty act Stavros Flatley and newsreaders Kate Silverton and Mary Nightingale.
One in 11 vehicles checked in the Midlands were found to have been “clocked”. HPI, which checks out vehicles for potential buyers, said the growing trend of car clocking was an increasing threat to used car buyers. On average, winding back the mileage can add between £100 and £400 to the value of the vehicle for every 1,000 miles which are taken off.
Careless driver avoids jail
Lost parrot reunited
A driver who caused a crash which killed a grandmother has been given a 12-month community sentence with 250 hours of unpaid work, and banned from driving for a year. Harminder Singh Rai, 23, from Exhall, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty to causing 63-year-old Yvonne Johnson’s death by careless driving.
A missing bilingual parrot, Mittu, has been found. Mittu, who speaks English and Urdu, has become part of the family since Ghaffar Ahmed, 36, and his wife Shabana, 31, brought him to their home in Lye, Stourbridge, six months ago. Tears turned to joy when the couple and their three young daughters were reunited with Mittu, pictured with Ghaffar, four days after he had gone astray.
Top cops suspended The Chief Constable of Cleveland and his deputy have been suspended from their posts after being arrested by Midland detectives investigating allegations of fraud and corruption. Sean Price and his deputy Derek Bonnard were arrested last Wednesday.