Classes suspended

THE much anticipated resumption of classes at the burnt out Palo Seco Government Secondary school, slated for yesterday after an Inter-Faith service, never got off the ground as tempers flared when strong winds caused an unsecured blackboard to come crashing down on a female teacher during the service.

The school’s main classrooms were razed by fire on April 7, and after numerous complaints by parents for the Education Ministry to secure alternative accommodations for displaced students, contractors erected several large tents adjacent to the school’s playing field to accommodate the students. However, during the service, a blackboard fell on a female teacher and she reportedly sustained minor injuries to her face and neck. Angry parents who witnessed the incident immediately demanded classes be dismissed after declaring the tents as “unsafe and unsecured.”

After a meeting with school principal Fitzgerald Jeffery, a decision was made to postpone classes until May 17 after corrective work is carried out on the tents and supplemental furnishings put in place. Palo Seco PTA secretary Elvin Semper said a number of parents demanded a meeting with the Ministry’s technical team to discuss the safety of the structure. “We are still not too sure about what will happen when the rain begins to fall,” he said. Meanwhile, Education Ministry communications officer Mervyn Critchlow said that “in the interest of safety,” students would return to classes on May 17.

He said a number of corrective measures were being put in place, including securing the blackboards with weights, and installing flaps on the tents. He said that tents had already been equipped with the necessary lighting and water supply. Education Minister Hazel Manning is scheduled to meet with parents of both the South Oropouche Government Primary School and the Palo Seco Government School today.