behind his back has been suspended.

Education Minister the Hon. Clarence Terceira said the female teacher would be "withdrawn'' until a Police inquiry has been concluded.

Americans Mr. and Mrs. Brian Nash complained that their son suffered the abuse at East End Primary School on February 11.

The youngster has been diagnosed as suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder, a medical problem which makes it extremely difficult for a sufferer to pay attention or sit still for any length of time. He would also tend to talk at inappropriate times.

His mother told the teacher about the problem, two days before the incident, and asked the teacher to administer medicine.

Dr. Terceira defended the teacher in Parliament, yesterday, but sympathised with the boy's parents. He said: "We can understand how upset Mr. and Mrs.

Nash were when they received information which led them to believe that an unacceptable form of discipline had been administered on their child.'' "We share their view that the actions taken by the teacher were unacceptable.

However, we also believe that it is important that there be some understanding of the situation of the teacher.

"The teacher is in her second year in the profession. She is a gentle and caring person who is committed to teaching.'' The Minister said the teacher had worked out a number of strategies for managing the behaviour of the child who was hyperactive and disrupted the learning of other children.

He said: "We have to understand that the teacher accepted responsibility for all the children in the class.'' Dr. Terceira said the responsibility to administer medication was an extraordinary responsibility for any teacher, particularly a young and inexperienced one.

He said: "Regrettably, the teacher allowed her frustration with her difficulty of managing the child's behaviour to prompt her to take an action which is unacceptable.'' The school's principal met the parents and admitted the discipline had been inappropriate. The teacher also apologised to the parents.

Dr. Terceira said: "It was the principal's hope and the hope of the Chief Education Officer that the parents would accept the apologies and they would not feel it was in the interest of the child to take the matter further.

"However, we have to recognise that parents have a right to take whatever action they deem to be necessary for the protection of their children.

"As the matter has been brought to the attention of the Police the Ministry has taken the decision to withdraw the teacher from her duties pending the outcome of the Police investigation.'' The Ministry of Education has received calls in support of the teacher. Dr.

Terceira said: "Parents have stated that teacher is a good teacher and they would not want to see her removed from the school. This assessment has been supported by the staff of the Education Department who have observed the teacher.'' Dr. Terceira went on to say that the incident reinforces the need for a code of discipline to be prepared for teachers. He said: "There is clearly a need for policies and procedures for handling this very sensitive issue.'' Shadow Education Minister Ms Jennifer Smith said she felt it was not strange for teachers to be asked to administer medicine to children.

Ms Smith said: "If a child has diabetes we are not asking the teacher to insert the needle, but they should know what to do if a problem arises.

"I could not be a teacher because I do not have the patience to take 25 normal children, without any that need special needs.''