Richard Morais and Stephanie Coleman, Gleaner Writers
STUDENTS AND teachers at three learning institutions are cowering in fear following separate incidents of violence since the start of the week.
At Cedric Titus High School in Trelawny, classes have been suspended amid reports of growing tension among residents of Clark's Town and Falmouth since Monday's stabbing death of an eleventh grade student.
Meanwhile, teachers and students at the Eltham Basic School in St. Catherine are still traumatised following a daring daylight robbery at the institution on Tuesday.
At the Boscobel Primary School in St. Mary, teachers are demanding more security following death threats against two of their colleagues.
According to Elette Fletcher, the principal of Cedric Titus High School, the situation at her institution is disturbing.
"There is the fear of reprisal," she told The Gleaner.
On Monday, 16-year-old Zanute Simpson of Clark's Town, Trelawny, was killed, allegedly by one of his schoolmates, while returning home from Cedric Titus.
There are reports that since then several students living in Falmouth, including girls, have been beaten by persons from Clark's Town in retaliation for his death.
The police report that the accused schoolmate, who has since been charged with murder, lived in Zion near Falmouth.
In the meantime, Cedric Titus High School has called an emergency meeting for today among teachers, parents and community members, to discuss the concerns.
The Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) said yesterday it was worried about the safety of students and teachers at learning institutions.
PROACTIVE POLICIES
Demanding that the Ministry of Education create proactive and preventative policies for school security, JTA president Ruel Reid described its response to the issue of school security as "lukewarm".
But contacted last night State Minister for Education, Noel Monteith, rebutted the JTA's claims.
"We have discussed it (school security) at our monthly meetings (with the JTA) and they don't have the solution either," Senator Monteith said.
He added that the Education Ministry was committed to examining the situation with a view to improving security and was already spending "significant sums" to implement security measures in schools.
- Gleaner correspondent Rasbert Turner contributed to this story.
