education

Security issue raised

Parents of some students at the Instituto Nacional are threatening to pull their children from the school if disciplinary issues are not addressed.

Lester Caballero, a lawyer who represents the school's parents association, said that a small group of students have made threats against classmates and introduced a "climate of terror" at the institution.

Those students, Caballero said, were responsible for the bulk of the damage done at the school during a protest on April 8. He is asking the Ministerio de Educación (Meduca) to expel them.

During the protest, students threw rocks at police and damaged school equipment and parked cars.

Caballero said that if Meduca does not take a strong stand against the students causing the problems, many parents are prepared to boycott the school.

"There is a small group causing the problems," Caballero said. "The authorities know who they are, but are afraid to remove them."

Arturo Trelles, director of student affairs at Meduca, explained that an investigation was carried out to determine how many students were involved in the riots and to identify them. He added that two students have been expelled already. Those students were apparently caught trying to set off fireworks inside the school during the protest.

The parents association will meet May 8 to determine its next move.