Richard Troupe, Director of Safety & Security in the Ministry of Education
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Richard Troupe, Director of Safety & Security in the Ministry of Education, speaking with Morning Agenda host Sanjay Lewis on Power 106FM
By Nakinskie Robinson
Following a series of fake bomb threats, issued against several schools on Tuesday, the Education Ministry has moved to defend its existing safety protocols.
When quizzed by Morning Agenda host Sanjay Lewis about why the Ministry was not more proactive in revising its safety protocols for major security breaches during the external examinations period, Director of Safety & Security in the ministry, Richard Troupe, said Tuesday's incidents are foreign to Jamaica.
He said these are emerging vulnerabilities that were not previously considered.
Mr. Troupe was also taken to task about the ministry's ability to physically secure school compounds.
But he admitted that, in light of these new threats, the Ministry has to work to revise existing protocols.
"What happened last year when 74 schools were disrupted in one month is unprecedented. The situation occurred in November, not a month when the external exams were scheduled. And that is why we're talking about this revised protocol because when we're sitting an external exam it has implications for our students," he acknowledged.
Pressed further that the ministry should have had the foresight to prepare for the possibility of such a threat during the external examination period, Mr. Troupe conceded that that reality was not considered, but insisted work is being done to address this.
"We will take that point. It was not considered last year. The requisite consultation was made. The requisite consultation continues and we will just have to do what is necessary," he maintained.
Caribbean Examinations Council exams were disrupted Tuesday after the police were notified of the threats at Campion College in St. Andrew, Kingston College, and Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester.
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