Although the relevant repairs were completed and most of the Belmont Secondary School students returned to classes yesterday, some parents remained cautious about sending their children back on the compound following issues which arose after gunmen entered the compound late last month.
“They are awaiting till the end of this week to see how things pan out,” Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president Shurlanda Malcolm said yesterday.
As promised by the Education Ministry, repairs to a broken fence at the back of the compound were done, while some other infrastructural issues were addressed.
“Gates have been put to block off entry at open points in the drain…Also, the farm fencing with security breaches have been replaced with new fencing. Also, all toilets for both male and female has been replaced,” Malcolm said.
Malcolm thanked the Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly for addressing their concerns and for “taking heed of Belmont Secondary.” On April 28, two masked gunmen entered the compound and accosted a health and security officer.
“I was heading east to the farm area and there was a blind spot to the building. When I turned the corner, I just bumped into two guns,” the security officer said.
This incident prompted parents to keep their children away from school for a week. They also protested outside the school twice last week calling for the security issues and the broken fence to be addressed.
“No fence, no class, no safety no school,” the small group of parents and students chanted during the protest.
“We came out here to tell the minister that we don’t want to talk, we want we fence,” the PTA president said during the protest.
