Malick Secondary not closed

An official of the Ministry of Education is assuring that the Malick Secondary school has not been closed by the Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA), Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Works and Transport.

“OSHA is the body to pronounce if a school is not fit for opening, and the school has not been closed because we have not been told the school is structurally unsound to accommodate students,” said the official who asked not to be identified.

The school’s PTA member Karen Walters refuted claims that repairs were carried out at the school. Walters said they are calling on anyone who can help them get a save space for the students to go back to school. “Since the beginning of the current school term, children have been out of classes as teachers are staying away due to the conditions at school.

“We have asked the School Supervisor Three and the principal to get us a space where the children can go to school and learn, because the term is almost completed. For the ministry to say upgrades have been taking place is simply not true.The Electrical Inspector stated the school failed because it is not up to code. Forget the teachers, why is it more than 450 children have to go to school while there is an electrical risk at the school? All we want is for teachers to go back to school,” Walters said.

The ministry official said that since the beginning of the current term, teachers were refusing to work citing health and safety concerns. The official said several upgrades were done. “A complete upgrade was done on the prefabricated unit. The ceiling and the school was repainted. In the library, concerns were raised about the air condition unit and the ceiling. Up to date, three units were fixed and the ceiling in the library was also repaired. They also had concerns about the rat infestation in the school,” the ministry official said.

The official added that the rat situation was addressed by the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation and numerous rat baits were placed on the compound. The official said MTS cleared all guttering at the school, power washed, cleaned and sanitised the entire compound. The official said after having consultation with the school’s administration, it was decided to have repairs done on a phase basis in order for the school not to be closed completely.

“While the contractors are fixing the school by blocking off a block for works to continue, students can have classes every day and will not lose out on their school work,” the official said.