FEAR HAS gripped the White Marl Primary and Junior High School in Central Village, St. Catherine, after a number of gunmen invaded the premises, over a week ago, in search of a student who reportedly witnessed the killing of her father by gunmen.
The Gleaner understands that the student and her mother have gone into hiding since the incident last week Wednesday, which resulted in the school having to be closed down for an entire week. However, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) said last night that they did not have any report of the incident.
The Gleaner first became aware of the incident when the Ministry of Education issued a release on Tuesday stating that the school would reopen for regular classes on Wednesday, June 11. The release said that the school had been closed indefinitely since June 4, after it was invaded by outsiders. Enquiries by The Gleaner turned up information that there was an invasion of between five and 10 gunmen searching for the girl who allegedly had witnessed the killing of her father.
The Ministry said that it had held two meetings with stakeholders and the teaching staff prior to an agreement for it to be reopened on Wednesday.
At an emergency meeting of the school's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) yesterday, some parents expressed fear that the men might revisit the school and their children could be harmed. According to one parent, who demanded a response from the school, "I stop my child from coming to school dis morning, because we still don't know if dem safe and we want to know what has been done with the child."
The parents seemed concerned that if the mother, who works at the school, and her daughter remain there, the men will return. The Gleaner understands that the mother and the child have gone into hiding since the incident.
One parent said yesterday that in a class of over 40 students, including her child, only three students turned up. A woman, said to be a counsellor from the Ministry of Education, sought to allay the parents fears: "Under the circumstances, we cannot answer questions (as to the whereabouts of the child and her mother); they are in the care of the State so just pick the sense out of the nonsense that I have said," the counsellor responded.
As a result of the incident, teachers and students at the school are said to be traumatised. In the meantime, parents are being encouraged to send their children to school for the sitting of the end of year exams which are due to start next week.
