Students at standard six of St. Peter Claver School in Punta Gorda attended classes today in a building that has been condemned by medical experts because the buildings has an asbestos roof. They had to move into these classrooms because high school students need the classrooms to take their CXC exams. So it’s a temporary situation, but a hazardous one nonetheless for these students who need to be in class because there are only two weeks to go before they sit their PSE exams. Will Maheia of the PNP independent party spoke to teachers parents and students in Punta Gorda who were all outraged.
Cindy Martinez, Teacher
“We are not buying it because are saying this building has been there
for so long and teachers have been enduring it but at the end of the day it has reached a stage where we cannot endure anymore. It is now beginning to flake off, it is deteriorating and we are seeing that and we are inhaling it because we three teachers try to go in and clean out those buildings, we have already put ourselves at risk, and we are saying that immature of us and ignorant that we are going into a building like that and risk our health. We have already taken off ten years off of our lives and we will not allow our children to do it because it is not right.”
Rose Avila, Teacher
“From my son moved over we’ve had two months of his suffering from headache and so when we went to the doctor and they confirmed it was the sinus but it was caused by the dust and so now that he is back I am trying my best to get the teacher to keep the dust away from the children. It is hard but we can work on it.”
Teacher #3,
“The roach, the rats, the stools, and every morning you have children cleaning and I don’t think it is healthy at all. And then you can’t leave thing and come back and find it neat. Really I would want to get out of here bad.”
Parent,
“One of my daughters has contracted asthma and I do believe it is from that same asbestos building. This is an ongoing thing, its been a long time this thing has been ongoing and I think the institution refuses to do something about it.”
The only comment we could get from the Ministry of Education is that they have made alternate plans for the students. No word on when those will go into effect. We did not reach the Catholic School Management. We will keep following up.
