Residents said that following the foiled attempt to kidnap a student of the school last week, they are demanding nothing less than armed protection for the pupils and teachers at the school.

"The children were promised armed protection by the Education Ministry but when the children turned up (yesterday) morning there were no Police nor armed guards at the school," one angry resident said.

A senior official from the Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) Regional Education Department, at Triumph, visited the school Friday following the foiled kidnap attempt two days before, and promised that she would take the matter up with the Education Ministry to see if armed protection could be provided at the school from yesterday, residents said.

They said that when students turned up at the Strathspey school yesterday morning, most of them accompanied by their parents, relatives or guardians, there were no security personnel.

Education Minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey yesterday told the Chronicle "we are very concerned about what took place (last week), and is taking place at the school and we would like to assure that we will work with all of the community and the regional authorities to try to provide the most maximum security that we can to the (Strathspey) school."

He said he had personally spoken to the Police and the Army Chief in this regard.

Regional Education Officer, Mr. Balram Indarjeet, told the Chronicle yesterday that his department is unable to provide "armed" guard(s) to the school.

He, however, said an 'unarmed guard', employed by a guard service in Georgetown, is expected to be based at the school from tomorrow.

According to Indarjeet, the unarmed guard would basically be entrusted with manning the school entrance (gate) and 'screening' those who enter the compound.

"These children are very scared to go back to school...in fact, they are not only scared to go back to school, they are also scared to even go on the road," an elderly villager said.

"We live under siege right now in this village, the big people (adults) frighten much less the children," another angry resident said, adding that her daughter who is in the same class as the girl who was targeted last week, cannot sleep much at night since she is still traumatised by the incident which unfolded before her eyes.

The Head of the Nursery Section of the Strathspey school said only about 15 children, out of a roll of 105, turned up for classes yesterday morning. It is also understood that about 90 children from the Primary Level turned out yesterday morning, out of a student population (at the Primary Level) of more than 300.

Classes are not likely to be held today at the Strathspey School as teachers have indicated that they would join the ongoing Guyana Teachers Union strike.

Last week, residents of the Strathspey/Bladen Hall communities staged demonstration exercises to press demands for authorities to address the 'unsatisfactory security situation' around the village.

The placard-bearing demonstrators also demanded the removal of Army personnel deployed in joint patrols with the Police after months of violent attacks on the lower East Coast.

The protests were sparked following an attempt Wednesday by three gunmen to kidnap an 11-year-old schoolgirl.

The armed men, who came from the direction of the neighbouring and violence-prone village of Buxton, had been moving around on bicycles, residents said.

The girl, the daughter of a businessman, was lifted bodily out of the school while class was in session.

Fortunately, she was rescued when members of the Community Policing Group fired several shots from their homes to scare the kidnappers and a driver of a motorcar and public-spirited citizens gave chase. One of the kidnappers was struck down but managed to get up and escape.

Residents claimed that the Army patrol arrived on the scene when the fleeing men were within range and could have been apprehended, but yet they managed to escape.