Parents close Arima school

The parents are demanding at least three security guards at the school and a wall as the perimeter fence.

The decision by the school’s Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) came after an incident last week in which a second-year class teacher’s bag was stolen by an intruder. The man allegedly gained entry by cutting a hole in the chain-link fence at the back of the school. Newsday was told that the incident occurred at 10 am last Friday, and also forced the early dismissal of classes. The matter was reported to the Arima Police Station.

The incident was the second one in a week. A man was reportedly seen on the school’s premises earlier on Tuesday. The teacher and students in whose class the incident occurred last week were reportedly traumatised.

Sharon Samuel, chairman of the school’s PTA, yesterday told Newsday that parents met at the school with school supervisors and representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Associa-tion (TTUTA), where parents indicated their dissatisfaction with the school’s security. She said parents took the decision to keep their children away from school, "until the Ministry of Education can provide at least three security officers and start construction of a wall around the school." One female security officer is stationed at the school.

Samuel said while there was no positive feedback about additional security, ministry officials gave the assurance that construction of the brick wall will begin before the end of the week.

She pointed out that the wire fence has several holes and, with a river running at the back of the school, it is an ideal escape route for bandits. Samuel said parents have decided that the children should be kept from school for the remainder of the week. They will return to school on Monday, when the PTA will reassess the situation and decide on the next course of action.

National Parent Teachers’ Association (NPTA) chairman, Zena Ramatali, said the incident was unfortunate.

She said while the ministry was doing its best, the incident demonstrated the need for all schools to be properly secured. She said one security officer was obviously not enough and there is a "need for more, and I hope the ministry looks into the matter immediately."

Efforts to contact TTUTA president Clyde Permell, who was the former principal at the school, were futile.

Mervyn Critchlow, communications specialist at the ministry, confirmed the incident at the school. However, he bluntly told Newsday he could not provide additional information about the school’s closure as he was in a meeting.