School attendance levels affected in crime plagued communities in St. James

The Ministry of Education is monitoring schools in crime plagued communities in St. James in light of a decline in attendance at some institutions due to security concerns.

Despite the deployment of additional police and soldiers, some parents have kept their children at home. 

Education Minister Senator Ruel Reid on Monday night expressed concern about the impact of violence on schools in sections of St. James.

"The ministry is monitoring the situation and we are hoping that the measures that the government is implementing will be able to bring the matter speedily under control... so normality can be restored and so the students can return to school, and so their education can continue unaffected," he told RJR News.

Measures

One of the schools in the crime plagued community of Glendevon in St. James has put measures in place in the wake of the upsurge in violence. Susan Simms, Principal of Glendevon Primary and Infant School, told RJR News that the institution has made adjustments to the Ministry of Education’s Critical Incident Management Plan. She said the changes were made to adapt to the situation at the school. 

Mrs. Simms explained that, given the frequent flare-up in violence in the community, a team of specially trained teachers is on standby to monitor students during gunfire. She said twice last week the school activated the plan when shootings occurred close to the institution. 

The school principal said, during the gunfire, the school was placed on lock down with no one allowed to enter or leave classes or the compound.