Petrina Francis, Education ReporterTHE GENERAL office at the Camperdown High School in Kingston was set ablaze Thursday night after two armed men invaded the school and tied up and robbed the bursar.
This is the latest incident in a crime wave which has been plaguing the island's schools since the start of the year.
When The Gleaner news team visited Camperdown yesterday, the office was in shambles. The remnants of three computers, telephones, chairs and other documents that were damaged by the fire were strewn all over the place.
BURSAR TIED UP, GAGGED
A security guard who was on duty when the fire started told the news team that about 8:00 p.m, he saw the bursar running from the burning building with his hands tied and his mouth gagged.
He said the bursar told him that two men had entered the office and tied him up. They then poured gasolene inside the building before setting it ablaze.
The security guard said the bursar managed to escape without injuries.
None of the security guards who worked that night said they saw anyone enter the compound.
The Elletson Road police, who are investigating, confirmed the incident. The police said a cellphone was taken from the bursar.
Deputy Superintendent Stewart Beckford of the York Park Fire Station said estimate of the damage is approximately $3 million.
GUNMEN ON COMPOUND
In May, a teacher's husband, who went to pick her up at Vauxhall High School in east Kingston, was attacked and beaten during the pouring rain by armed men who had invaded the school.
The week before that incident, armed men had entered the same school compound, but without incident.
Also in May, arsonists set one of the blocks at Kingston College on fire, damaging a book room containing the school's photocopying machine and the door of the vice-principal's office.
That month, there was also a break-in at the Eltham High School in St. Catherine where robbers stole amplifiers and speakers.
OTHER INCIDENTS
Similarly, in June, frustrated students at the Edith Dalton-James High School in St. Andrew demonstrated after a female teacher was held up by gunmen in a classroom and robbed of her jewellery. The men also took her car keys and escaped in her motor vehicle. The car was later found, as it had a tracking device.
In that same month, the administration at the Angels Primary School in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, was forced to increase security at the school after two armed men robbed the principal and her assistant of $50,000 in cash at gunpoint.
Meanwhile, the staffroom at the Penwood High School in Kingston was also set on fire by arsonists. The fire was, however, put out early by the watchman who was on the school grounds at the time.
