Student attendance dwindles despite police all-clear for Spanish Town

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

Principal of Spanish Town Primary School Roogae Kirlew says about half of the student population did not turn up for school on Tuesday morning, following the flare-up of violence in sections of St. Catherine, last weekend.

 

The institution, which operates on the shift system, had roughly 50 per cent of pupils showing up for the morning shift, which runs from 6:45 to 11:45.

 

Mr. Kirlew said the school's administration and the police are actively monitoring the situation. 

 

"All teachers are here and all ancillary workers, and I know that for the afternoon shift, we might pretty much have less than 50%. Just a few minutes ago, one of my teachers reported that a student came breathless this morning, and his account was that there was shooting when he was coming to school. So I'm yet to investigate that to find out what really happened."

 

The principal said, as the day progresses, the administration will decide whether classes for the evening shift will run for the full operating hours, from 11:45 to 4:45. 

 

"If there are no accounts of anything in the area, we are going to try to go up until 4:45, but any disturbances, I have no choice but to dismiss the students early and the staff to have them reach home safely," he said.   

 

He added that the school along with police will again be doing an assessment of the areas from which students must travel, to determine whether to have face-to-face classes on Wednesday. 

 

There have been mounting concerns from residents about their safety, following last Friday's fatal police shooting of Sheldon Walters - otherwise called 'Termite' - a reputed gang leader.

 

He was killed in a section of Spanish Town, known as Top Banks.

 

This led to fiery protests on Saturday, but the police say the old capital is now safe for people to traverse. 

 

Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Corporate Communications Unit, said the 24-hour curfew, initially imposed on Saturday, remains in effect for Top Banks.

 

An assessment will be done Tuesday afternoon to decide whether there will be another extension.

 

SSP Lindsay said the authorities are very serious about restoring public order in Spanish Town, adding that the police force has developed a good understanding of how criminal elements operate in the area. 

 

"Spanish Town is not strange to us in law enforcement. So we understand the system that works in these communities, especially when a person who is a well-known member of a gang is killed, mainly by the security forces during a confrontation. [Residents] go out and they block roads and they demonstrate. And we know by virtue of our investigation and intelligence that in fact, a lot of the persons that you see out there don't really want to go out there, but they are forced to go out there because they are fearful of the implication because the criminals are still living among them, the gunmen are still living among them, and they survive by intimidation then drive fear in the citizens," she explained. 

 

She was a guest on the Morning Agenda, on Power 106FM.