Claxton Bay Jr students to go to Marabella school

Students of the Claxton Bay Junior Anglican School are expected to be accommodated at the Marabella South Secondary School when the new term begins on January 6.

Some 166 students, comprising 11 classes from infants to standard two, and 11 teachers have been displaced from the school.

The Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) visited on September 30 and ordered that the 100-year-old building be closed and demolished.

An undertaking was reportedly given that the school would be torn down and replaced by prefabricated buildings during the Christmas vacation.

However, an Education Ministry official said work had been done at the Marabella South Secondary School, including work on an administrative block for clerical staff.

Other works included constructing special access gates, handrails, electrical work to accommodate the air conditioning system, refitting the washroom and building a soakaway.

The official said the furniture from the old school was to be moved to the Marabella location.

In a letter to the editor in Newsday on Friday, the writer raised the issue of free transport for the students to and from the new location, saying this had not been happening and was a cause of concern for parents.

The ministry official acknowledged that the Public Transport Service Corporation had challenges in providing the service, but said these should be worked out before the start of the term.

The official also said consultations between the school board and the Education Ministry were needed before rebuilding could begin.

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis and representatives of the Anglican Education Board of Management could not be reached for comment.