A primary school principal in Laventille East is pleading with ministry officials for immediate intervention, saying the lives of her staff are under constant threat.
She added that there was virtually no fencing to properly secure the school's compound, making it easy for strangers to access.
The principal also called for better remuneration for principals and teachers operating in crime-infested communities.
She listed the litany of woes during the National Convention of Teachers held at the Cascadia Hotel, St Ann's, yesterday.
It was hosted by the T&T Unified Teachers Association's (TTUTA) Port-of-Spain District, under the theme Empowering Teachers, Building Sustainable Societies.
The principal, who spoke during the open forum session, begged that neither her name nor the school's name be used because she did not want to suffer the same fate as murdered WASA manager Derek Hooker.
She said despite submitting several reports, including to TTUTA, her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.
"Because our area is a hotspot area I need to know that our children and teachers are safe and we are asking that the ministry supply us with all that we need.
"Coming in and out of Laventille it is not easy for some of my teachers because they come from very far and recently we had a teacher who was robbed around the corner. She took six days to make night and day to get out of the school," the principal said.
She said since then there had been no replacement teacher.
Saying she was "under threat at the school," the principal added, " I have written up, down, sideways to get protection for myself and the teachers.
"We have an in-house situation with a cleaner gone bad...the security who is living with the community so the gate is always opened and a neighbour two houses down the road wants to be on the compound at all times. I have taken measures to inform everyone and up to yesterday (Thursday) the supervisor told me that I cannot 'talk to the situation.' I have to write and recommend removal."
But the principal said if in fact she did that then she would become an immediate target.
"My school is so open that people could just walk into the classroom. I need fencing and I need somebody to come to make sure we are safe at the school," the principal, who was almost in tears, said.
After making her contribution she was then asked by a TTUTA official to provide the necessary information but the principal said, "They already have all the information...I am just not getting help."
She said since her three-and-a-half year leadership of the school, its academic performance had moved from seven per cent to 40 per cent.
But she feared this could be affected given the negativity surrounding the school, including that of lack of parental involvement as there is no Parent Teacher Association.
Another teacher, from Queen's Royal College, complained that despite teaching at the school for some ten years, she was still listed as "temporary" by the Ministry of Education and was therefore unable to access full benefits.
A few others complained of tremendously overcrowded classrooms which sometimes housed as many as 47 students.
Added to this was the insufficient number of teachers to man such a large group.
Several other teachers accused TTUTA of doing too little to improve the lives and conditions of teachers and called on the organisation to get its house in order.