KINGSTON, Jamaica— Principal of Kingston College (KC), Dave Myrie, said the school would not take a bomb threat that disrupted Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations on Tuesday lightly and would beef up the institution’s security protocol.

KC, Campion College and Holmwood High were disrupted after bomb threats were called in.

“What we want to do, even though the police have told us it was just a hoax, is just beef up security at night and in the day just to make sure the boys are safe and we can get exams done as well,” Myrie told Observer Online Tuesday.

“The police came, did a sweep of the school, gave us the all clear and said we could resume school for tomorrow morning, so we advised our parents,” he added.

The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations will continue until early June.

Following the bomb threat, nearby schools allowed the KC students to complete their exams at their facilities. Myrie expressed a big thanks to these entities.

READ: Bomb threat disrupts CSEC exams at Kingston College

“I give great thanks to our brother and sister schools around. Alpha accommodated some of our students. Holy Trinity accommodated some of our sixth formers because they said they had a hall they were not using so we could use that,” the principal said.

He shared that St George’s College accommodated more than 100 of his students.

“We had a second set of exams this afternoon for both Chemistry and Literature, and St Georges accommodated the boys. And so my deep and sincere gratitude and thanks to St George’s, Holy Trinity and Alpha, who jumped in when we spoke to them and were willing immediately to accommodate our boys to do those exams,” Myrie revealed.

He said the children completing their examinations was his greatest concern.

“The bottom line was that anyhow those CXC exams had gone and the boys didn’t do it, they couldn’t have done it again. It’s being done across the region, they can’t do it again. And so the boys completing their exams was a big issue for me. So we called around, and the principals we spoke to accommodated us,” he said.

Myrie asserted that everyone played their part, even the invigilators who moved swiftly with the children and got them settled so everything could be sorted out.

“We contacted the Overseas (Examinations Commission) office to let them know that we had this bomb scare and what we are seeking to do. Plans went into place and we just did what we needed to do,” the principal disclosed.

He said moving from one examination centre to another was a bit concerning for the students.

“But as I said to them, the bottom line is this – we have to get the exam done so let’s move, and they said, ‘sir it’s not a problem, we have to move let’s get on with it’.”

Police from the Bomb Squad, Canine, Protective Services and other divisions of the Jamaica Constabulary Force had to rush to KC and Campion and conduct searches and other investigations. Both schools were later cleared.

Superintendent Berrisford Williams, commanding officer for the Kingston Central Police Division, under which Kingston College falls, shared that the school received an email saying that a bomb had been planted there and would go off around noon.

He said after the police conducted a sweep and investigation, things returned to normal.

Senior Superintendent Marlon Nesbeth, head of the St Andrew Central Division, under which Campion College falls, echoed similar sentiments.

He said there was a heightened police presence at the school, and several entities responded.

“The matter has been handled, and we are back to some level of normalcy as we speak,” informed SSP Nesbeth.

Meanwhile, the head of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association, Leighton Johnson, said the threats were something of a national emergency that his association could not just turn a blind eye to.

“When it occurred last year, of course, we indicated that there was the need for us to improve our safety protocol,” Johnson said. “We have never had to interface with things like these before, but now this is becoming prevalent, and we do not want a situation where we take them lightly,” he said.

He said the JTA would continue to take the necessary precautions to ensure that, as best as possible, these threats are nothing but threats.

“We just continue to ask the police to be vigilant, improve their investigative mechanism with a view of getting to the root of these issues, and this is what we’re asking at this time. We call on our administrators and schools just to improve your response mechanism to these threats and to be as vigilant as possible in this regard,” the president urged.