The vandalising of the Eccles Nursery School last week to put it mildly is unimaginable and a societal disgrace. Moreso, this is not the first time this has happened at the school. According to one of the teachers, this is the third time. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that the school is being targeted and as such the authorities need to delve deeper into the issue rather than just treat it as another act of vandalism.
What could be the motive of such a dastardly act? It is unbelievable that supposedly sane people could be engaged in such destructive and disgusting behaviour.
However, this nasty incident tells us that we have some very sick minds amongst us and gone are the days when there was so much respect for schools that were regarded as sacred shrines. In those days no one would even dream of carrying out such a wicked act.
The parents and community should spare no effort in collaborating and cooperating with the police to find those criminals and if and when found they must be made to endure the full force of the law.
Fortunately, in our country the large majority of people are law abiding, decent and respectful of public property. But the few who are lawless, indecent and disrespectful of public property are creating havoc in our society
However, a number of questions need to be answered in relation to the incident. Were security guards on duty at the time of the incident? If they were not, then why were they absent? If they were absent then why measures were not put in place to replace them? If they were at work then how did these vandals gain entry and create havoc and left without being pursued? The security guards need to be grilled to yield answers.
According to a report in this newspaper, the Ministry of Education is in discussion with Region 4 authorities to strengthen security at schools, particularly at Eccles Nursery, on the East Bank of Demerara.
Minister of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh, made this disclosure in a telephone interview on Wednesday, when he condemned the defacement of the Eccles institution.
He said the extent of the damage will be determined after a thorough assessment and inventory but one of the teachers, who wished to remain anonymous, said this is the third time such an incident has occurred and it has significantly disrupted scheduled classes.
This is the old story in Guyana of being reactive instead of being  preventative. Since the school was vandalised on two previous occasions, did the regional administration  put in place effective measures to deal with the situation? Because a blind person could see that the school is being targeted. The Education Ministry should demand an adequate response from the regional administration on this matter because this madness cannot be allowed to continue.
However, the security at schools, throughout the country needs to be reviewed and meticulously scrutinized with the aim of making it more adequate and effective. For too long there has been complacency with security at schools, and perhaps this is understandable as stated above schools were regarded as sacred shrines and as such there was no need to worry too much in the past. However, the situation has changed significantly and today criminals do not have regard for anything. If they would murder helpless senior citizens what would be so difficult to senselessly vandalise a school?
If one were to visit schools at nights, one would find on most occasions security guards are fast asleep, sometimes they are drunk or on other occasions they may not be on site. This unacceptable situation must not and cannot be allowed to continue. Security guards ought to be reliable and responsible people because of the nature of the job. Therefore, not anyone and everyone should be employed as security guards. However, perhaps it is difficult to get qualitative persons as security because of a shortage of human resources. In this regard, while it would be costly, consideration should be given to utilizing the services of private security companies. While it would be more costly to do so in the short term it would be cheaper in the long term. Let us do not be “penny wise and pound foolish.”