In other news, almost 200 students from St Matthews Government School are forced to return temporarily to distance learning after their school building caught on fire. The blaze broke out on Saturday and 7 of the classrooms, along with adjacent offices, received either fire or water damage. And until the building is repaired, the schools administration, with help from the Ministry of Education, will have to find a way to ensure that these students can carry out the rest of their school year.
Today, our colleagues at PlusTV spoke with the principal, who explained that the only explanation for the fire she could think of was a previous electrical issue they had.
Shakira Berry, Principal, St. Matthews Government School
"Over the weekend I got a call after 6pm that the school was on fire. So, I came out because I don't live in the village, I live all the way in GeorgeVille and when I came out I saw the remains of the building that we host 196 plus students. 5 of the classrooms were burnt down and the other remaining classrooms were damaged by the water. I don't know how the fire started, because I haven't gotten anything yet from the fire department, anything official. I know at St. Matthews Government School we had an electrical problem. I said had, because its no longer there. So that was an issue here for us at St. Matthews Government School."
"After I met with the CEO from the ministry of education, we are still in the planning phase for this week and next week we are looking for to start paper-base for now until we come up with a concrete plan that we can use for the next 2 and a half remaining months for school, because I know a new building might not happen right away. It's impossible.
'Right now, we need to see what is the next step for us to get these students back to school, so we're still in the planning phase."
"Parents, they are also devastated, because most of the parents in this village came to this school, so this is a community school that serves St. Matthews for many years. They are in support of what we are doing. They want to know when the students will return, yes, but yet they understand that this is a devastation that might not have them returning to school right away, but they are able to work with us, work with the paper-base for now and then see what will be the plan forward."
And this morning, the Ministers of Education, Infrastructure Development, and Sustainable Development visited the school. A press release from MOE stated, quote, "The group toured the affected structure and met with the principal, vice principal and teachers on the way forward for the school. Minister Fonseca expressed his sincere sympathy with the teachers and reassured them of the Ministry's support in the aftermath of the incident… Our Ministry will work in close collaboration with the school, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, and other partners, to ensure its students can promptly, safely and responsibly return to school as soon as possible." End quote.
