President of the Jamaican Psychological Society, Dr Paul Smith, says the Ascot Primary School graduation controversy should not be treated as a simple school “blunder”, but as a form of public punishment that may have damaged children at one of the most important milestones of their young lives.

Smith said the reported decision to separate some Grade Six students during graduation based on their Primary Exit Profile (PEP) performance amounted to discrimination and could leave lasting emotional scars.

“Children internalise things differently from adults,” Smith told THE STAR.