Students of the Strathspey Primary School refused to enter the school's building yesterday and once again took to the streets after they had turned up for classes and found no police presence at the school.
The students had taken to the street last Thursday, one day after two armed men barged into the building and snatched a screaming 11- year-old girl from her classroom. The child managed to escape with the assistance of residents.
Yesterday the students, backed by their parents protested again and after a shower of rain, decided to return home rather than enter the building.
Parents said that after reading a story in the Sunday Chronicle headlined, `Minister Jeffrey offers assistance to victim of attempted kidnapping' they were under the impression that police would have been at the school.
The article, which was attributed to the Government Information Agency (GINA), said among other things that Minister of Education, Dr Henry Jeffrey, had contacted the Head of the Security Forces, "namely the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). He indicated that assurances have been given by these officers that security has been strengthened in all schools in and around the Buxton area.
The minister has decided to further reinforce the security at the Strathspey Primary School, which Minister Jeffery also visited.
Arrangements are in place to enhance the current security arrangements by having twenty-four hour security placed at the school. The Ministry of Education will bear the additional cost for this arrangement."
From this article the residents said that they were under the impression that security personnel would have been at the school yesterday morning. Residents also alleged that while they were protesting, residents from the village of Buxton moved through the village and threatened the students.
In the meantime the residents have placed sandbags on the road in order to slow the flow of traffic into the village since they say that the road has been used by criminals as a getaway route.
The residents also said that the students would continue the protest action today if there were no security personnel at the school.