Examinations at the Marabella North Secondary School were brought to a halt yesterday as teachers and students were evacuated when an anonymous caller phoned in a bomb threat.
According to sources inside the school the call came in around 9.30 am.
The caller informed his listener there was a bomb in the school building. Before hanging up, the caller recited an Arabic verse.
The school was immediately evacuated and students gathered at the school’s muster point.
Fire Services and police rushed to the school’s compound but all was calm for the next hour-and-a-half as they awaited the arrival of the Bomb Detection Unit of Special Branch.
When the officers arrived with bomb-sniffing dogs just before 11 am, about 200 students were dismissed for the day.
About 100 Form Three students were kept on the compound as the threat had interrupted their exams.
After an hour-long search of the school buildings the students were allowed to re-enter around noon to resume their exams.
An officer of the Marabella Police Station described the situation as nothing more than a “high school prank.”
Up to news time, no one was arrested or detained for the incident.
Meanwhile, second vice-president of the T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Lynsley Doodhai, condemned the incident.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Doodhai said those types of threats were becoming too prevalent.
“TTUTA strongly condemns what happened at the Marabella school this morning. These incidents are becoming more prevalent and create disruptions to both the teaching and learning process.
“I hope that when the perpetrators of these bomb threats and other scares are found, they face the full brunt of the law,” he added.
He said those threats were especially damaging to students at exam time.
“Students will already be under some pressure because of exams and when you have incidents like these, where exams are delayed, it is cause of concern for TTUTA as the students are prone to higher levels of pressure and stress.”