MONTEGO BAY, St James — One Cornwall College 10th grade student has been charged with simple larceny, while another was facing a charge of receiving stolen goods in connection with Tuesday's theft of a schoolbag containing a number of textbooks at the all-boys school.

The police, while confirming that a group of Grade 10 students were taken to the Freeport Police Station by the resource (police) officer assigned to the school following the disappearance of the schoolbag with books, denied that the entire class was arrested. The police said that with the exception of the alleged suspect, all the other students who were taken in for questioning were sent home the same evening.

They were taken to the station for questioning after they all declined to give information on the whereabouts of the bag.

Cornwall College School Board Chairman Rev Everton Jackson, however, has expressed disappointment at the way the police handled the situation.

"I am stunned at the report which was carried in the media about the extreme measure employed by the school resource officer to resolve an alleged theft by a student. The board regrets the embarrassment, humiliation and trauma experienced by the innocent students," the school board chairman said in a release yesterday.

"While we do not condone criminal activities, other ways must be found to deal with students who have committed minor offences on the school compound rather than subjecting an entire class to the humiliation of being taken to police station. The board apologises to the parents and guardians of the students for the anxiety, trauma and inconvenience they undoubtedly experienced," he added.

"The principal has already been instructed to organise debriefing sessions for all students involved and the board will be meeting early next week to discuss this unfortunate development," said Rev Jackson.