A week since teachers at Lodge Secondary School staged a protest against gang activities at the school, several initiatives have been undertaken to address the situation.
According to the Deputy Head Master Khemraj Sawh, the Ministry of Education has organised training programmes for students.
Sawh said a team from the Guyana Police Force visited on Tuesday to have a discussion with the children. Representatives of the Guyana Defence Force are also due to meet with them.
There is now a regular police presence at the school. A welfare officer is also counselling some of the students, he noted.
Sawh also mentioned that a number of students who were out of control were transferred to other institutions.
In relation to the installation of barbed wire around the school’s fence, approval for the finances to begin construction is being awaited.
Sawh added that other issues are also being addressed and mentioned that the leaking roof was repaired over the weekend. “I must say that things are happening and it’s getting better,” he said.
Among the new initiatives adopted in wake of the protest by teachers was the conducting of searches of students prior to them entering the school’s compound. On the first day of the activity a student was found with an air gun. The student was subsequently arrested by police and later released on bail.
The protest by the teachers was prompted by attacks on both teachers and students, including robberies. The Ministry of Education, the Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Guyana Police Force have been collaborating to address the illicit activities.