ST JAMES, Jamaica — Classes have been suspended at Bickersteth Primary and Infant School in St James after thieves broke into the institution, stealing several items and causing extensive damage to sections of the building.

Staff members arriving at the school on Thursday morning were met with significant damage, including sections of the building left exposed to the elements.

Principal Major Robert Gordon said the secretary’s office was among the areas hardest hit, with windows and security grilles ripped out.

“Based on the seriousness of the damage to the secretary’s office, the windows were ripped out, the grille was ripped out, and the area was totally destroyed, so we need to do some infrastructure repairs to secure the areas so that even to protect the school from the elements because if rain should fall now, the entire area would be wet because the area is torn out,” he said.

Gordon explained that the extent of the damage has made it difficult to conduct classes safely, prompting the decision to temporarily close the school while urgent repairs are carried out.

“We need to meet with the board first; we are going to have an emergency meeting and then a decision will be made but hopefully by Monday of next week, school will be reopened,” he said.

It is believed that the perpetrators broke into the school under the cover of darkness. Although the institution is located along the roadway, it is somewhat isolated within the community, which may have made it vulnerable.

Gordon said he was alerted to the break-in by a member of staff at approximately 6:55 am. Upon arriving at the school, he discovered that several areas had been ransacked.

According to the principal, this is the fifth time the institution has been broken into in approximately seven years, but he described the latest incident as the most serious.

“This has been the worst time because we have lost significant amount of items to include laptops, desktops, the cash register from the kitchen was damaged, ripped out.

“The office, I am deeply surprised, because the files, I am still puzzled because they went through all the files and ransacked the entire principal, secretary office as well as the guidance counsellor’s office,” he said.

The incident has dealt a significant blow to the school community, particularly after staff spent the summer preparing the institution for the new academic year, which began just over a week ago.

“Words can’t describe how it makes you feel— it affects you mentally, it affects you emotionally and it really sets you back because we were here over the summer holidays trying to put school together for the growth and development of the children and then you have these hoodlums who come and set you back,” Gordon said.

“It is really sad and words can’t describe how it makes me [and] the members of the community feel,” he added.

Despite the setback, Gordon said the school is exploring additional security measures to prevent further break-ins.

“I would like to call on the Ministry of Education to come on board to help to secure the school because it is really affecting the children of the community of Bickersteth and its surroundings and the nation at large,” he said.