Boy breaks leg in fall at school

HARDEO Maharaj intends to sue the Ministry of Education for negligence, after his son Ganesh, 9, fell into a pit at the Mt Pleasant Government Primary School, Claxton Bay. The boy broke a leg. Maharaj related yesterday that around 12.25 pm last week Monday, Ganesh was playing with friends in the school yard, when he fell into a ditch about four feet deep. The ditch is at the side of the school’s library facilities and according to Maharaj, there had been some earth movement in the school’s compound after recent heavy rains.

Ganesh, who suffered a broken left leg just above the ankle, was lifted out of the ditch by a teacher. The Standard Three pupil was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where he was warded for seven days. Maharaj said doctors have since told him his son would have to undergo surgery to have certain bones properly aligned. Maharaj expressed the view yesterday that the school’s authorities ought to have placed a barrier around the dangerous ditch. He reported the incident to the school’s principal and officials of the Ministry of Education. When Newsday visited the school yesterday, the earth around the school was eroding due to heavy rains. Chunks of dirt have broken off the sides of the school’s compound.