HGP Nightly News – Regional Education Officer for Region 10, La Shanna Anderson, is making an urgent appeal to residents of Blueberry Hill and the wider Christianburg community following repeated break-ins and acts of vandalism at Christianburg Wismar Secondary School.
In an emotional statement, Anderson said the school has become a regular target for vandals and thieves who continue to damage property and steal resources that were intended to support the education and development of students.
She said the Regional Democratic Council and the Department of Education have made several efforts to secure the school compound. These measures included the construction of a 10-foot concrete fence around the school, the hiring of additional security guards, and the installation of surveillance cameras.
However, Anderson said even the security cameras were vandalised, and there was also an attempt to set the school on fire.
She also disclosed that crops planted by Agricultural Science students for their 2026 CSEC School-Based Assessment projects were stolen. According to Anderson, months of preparation and hard work were taken away from students who were using the project as part of their academic development.
The school was broken into again last evening, with several items stolen from the English, Science, and Agricultural Science departments. The stolen items included projectors, computers, printers, HDMI cables, and other educational resources.
Anderson said what was even more worrying was that the vandals removed televisions from classrooms and placed them in another location on the compound, appearing to prepare them for removal at a later time.
She described the situation as deliberate, organised, and painful.
According to the Regional Education Officer, the school is located in a community where residents live nearby, yet the attacks have continued. She said the criminals are not simply stealing from the government, but from the children who depend on the school for learning and opportunity.
She explained that every stolen projector affects classroom teaching, every computer taken reduces students’ access to technology, and every act of vandalism delays progress at the school.
Anderson said the attacks are especially troubling because preparations have already started for the installation of smart boards in every classroom and teaching space at Christianburg Wismar Secondary School. The initiative forms part of the Ministry of Education’s wider effort to modernise schools and provide students with the tools needed for 21st century learning.
She said while the government and the Ministry of Education are investing heavily in education, that progress is being undermined when schools are repeatedly vandalised and resources are destroyed or stolen.
The Department of Education has since engaged the Guyana Police Force, and investigations are ongoing.
However, Anderson said policing alone will not solve the problem. She stressed that the community must also play a role in protecting the school.
She urged residents who may have seen, heard, or know anything about the break-ins to come forward and report the information. She said the destruction must be stopped before the situation escalates further.
Anderson reminded residents that a school belongs to the community and to every child whose future depends on education.
She also appealed to parents, former students, farmers, community leaders, and citizens to help protect the institution, warning that the continued attacks on the school are direct attacks on the future of children in the community.
