TTUTA wants measures in place to prevent further disruption of the education system

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TTUTA wants measures in place to prevent further disruption of the education system

President of the T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Martin Lum Kin, said attempts by individuals and/groups to disrupt the teaching and learning environment ought to be roundly criticised.

His comment came hours after schools from Port of Spain to Tobago were forced to close doors early, after receiving a disturbing bomb threat email on Friday.

Lum Kin said: “TTUTA condemns with the strongest possible language the attempts by individuals and or groups to disrupt the education system.”

He urged investigators and ministry officials to, “have measures in place to prevent a further disruption of the education system.”

He commended all educators and school administrators for their careful handling of the situation, and singled out the T&T Police Service (TTPS) for working with schools to ensure all safety procedures were followed regarding the evacuation of staff and students.

Following investigations up to 4 pm yesterday, the TTPS confirmed it had received a total of 54 complaints from schools in eight police divisions.

Further, they reported that no devices or explosives had been discovered at any school.

In a release last evening, the TTPS said it began receiving reports of the emailed threats around 8.30 am from several schools across T&T.

The first line of the email, which seemed to contain religious under-tones and sought to incite violence and bloodshed, claimed, “Explosives are planted on the territory of the building.”

The TTPS said it acted immediately upon receipt of these reports.

“Officers throughout all 10 Police Divisions, including officers from SIU (Special Investigations Unit), the Cyber Crime Unit and Bomb Technicians, immediately sprang into action,” it said.

With assistance from the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS), the TTPS said it “mobilised all available resources” and all schools where threats were reported were visited and evacuated by officers, who carried out thorough searches for any threats.

Saying yesterday’s events had caused, “undue panic and stress upon not only innocent children, but also parents, guardians and all teachers and staff at the affected schools,” the TTPS assured the public that “investigations will be thoroughly conducted with a view of bringing the perpetrators to justice.”

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