Teachers of South East Port-of-Spain Secondary School have agreed to work to ensure that all end of term examinations are conducted for form four, five and six students beginning yesterday and ending on Friday, December 13.
The decision came in the wake of security concerns expressed by staff at the school following an incident where a teacher was grazed by a stray bullet during gang activity in the east Port-of-Spain area last week.
The announcement of the decision was released by the Ministry of Education in a statement yesterday.
The ministry said the decision was the outcome of a meeting, initiated by the School Supervisors of the Port-of-Spain Education District of the Ministry of Education (MOE).
It said the stakeholders’ meeting was held at the school on Tuesday where 11 teachers agreed to ensure curriculum delivery for these students.
The ministry said the decision of the teachers to take the course of action for the educational well-being of their students comes after what it described as the aftermath of a recent incident where a projectile was fired from outside of the school compound while classes were in session.
Anthony Garcia, Minister of Education praised the teachers, saying “I must commend the dedication and commitment demonstrated by the teachers to ensure that their students are not denied the opportunity to write their exams. The Ministry of Education is continuing to hold discussions with the Commissioner of Police, PTA and all stakeholders to ensure the situation at the South East Port of Spain Secondary School is resolved in a timely manner.”
On Wednesday 27 November police believed that gunmen fired off “warning/message” gunshots at each other when five stray bullets ended up penetrating a classroom at the South East Port-of-Spain Secondary School.
One of the bullets ricocheted and grazed a female teacher on the hand, while another bullet went just over the head of a pupil while he was sitting his end of term examination, missing his head by mere centimetres.
Since the incident, the Ministry of Education said senior executives from the ministry led by Minister Garcia met with Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Mayor of Port-of-Spain Joel Martinez, teachers, parents and other community stakeholders and discussed measures on addressing the security concerns of all concerned.
The ministry said the TTPS has implemented an increased security presence around the vicinity of the school, which provides a greater sense of security for both staff and students.