Presbyterian Board to deal with security

YVONNE WEBB

THE Presbyterian Primary School Board is considering its options to make its schools more secure after Education Minister Anthony Garcia confirmed in the Parliament on Friday, that no additional security guard will be assigned to the Jordan Hill Presbyterian School, following the armed robbery of a teacher’s vehicle on the compound earlier this week. An official of the Board said principals of all Prebyterian primary schools will meet with the Board next Thursday to find ways in which they could help to protect themselves and their charges.

At a meeting on Thursday, Jordan Hill parents proposed asking the ministry for additional security, but the official said based on the response from Garcia to a question posed by Naparima MP Rodney Charles that the incident is not enough to warrant additional security, “I don’t expect they will get that.

“MP Charles who stated given the fact that there are 25 teachers and 528 students, whether he considers the all-female, unarmed security guard adequate for the Jordan Hill school, and the minister said ‘yes’. So, I don’t think they will be putting more than one guard in the school,” the official said.

“The parents also proposed asking the school’s Parent Teachers Association (PTA) to assist by paying a security guard, for limited hours, to secure the pedestrian gate,” the official said.

“It is a standard policy of the government to for all primary schools throughout the country to have one security guard. Given the crime situation a lot of schools, especially those in the hot spot areas, in Port of Spain, have been clamouring for additional security.

“The Presbyterian Board also asked for an additional guard at Princes Town Presbyterian No. 2, which has merged with Princes Town Presbyterian No 1. These two schools are sharing one compound. There are over 800 students.

After Presbyterian No 1 closed down we asked for the guard to be reassigned to the No 2 compound. That has not happened.

Everything is cost cutting.”