COCKBURN TOWN, San Salvador, Sep 13, 2005 (BIS) - The Government has moved to allay the fears of parents, students and teachers by promising to rebuild two new schools on the island in about a year's time.
On Monday, September 12, the Minister of Education, the Hon. Alfred Sears, and the Minister of Works and Public Utilities, the Hon. Bradley Roberts, accompanied by officials from both ministries addressed a town meeting on the island regarding the rebuilding of the primary and high schools destroyed by Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne last year. Also present was Member of Parliament for Cat Island , Rum Cay and San Salvador , Philip 'Brave' Davis.
'As we move ahead, we want to strengthen this partnership between ourselves and you and this is why we are here to give a report, to hear your concerns, your recommendations so that when the architect goes back and sits with the engineers under the direction of Minister Bradley Roberts, we would have a product at the end of the day, that you would have helped to shape' a school that would meet the needs of the community 10, 20 years down the road,' Mr Sears said.
Mr. Sears pledged that the Government would build two new state-of-the art schools - an estimated $3.5 million for the high school and between $2.5 million - $2.8 million for the primary school. Three sites have already been identified for the schools. Mr. Sears said contracts have gone out to tender and construction is expected to start in 2006.
Minister Sears said an immediate relief is relocating the primary school students, in two weeks, into six trailers being outfitted as classrooms. Since the storms, the 120 students have been schooled at the Joseph Albury Catholic Hall, the museum and the Seventh Day Adventist church, where the Government officials addressed a special assembly. At the high school, classes were still under repair. Monday was the first day of school for the students.
Mr Sears said he would have liked for a new primary school to have already been built, but promised that one would be constructed. He told the parents and teachers that despite the challenges, the students performed 'very well' in the Grade Level Assessment Test (GLAT).
The Minister thanked the ministry's partners for providing the temporary facilities, but agreed with parents that it's time to rebuild.
'I received your communication and I wanted to come here personally and let you know that not only am I here to express an intention, but I am here to give you a report,' he said.
Mr Sears told residents that during a tour of the primary schools following last year's storms it was disheartening to see the level of destruction at the institutions.
'It has been a difficult time because teachers and administrators have related to me what you have been going through, 'he said. 'But I want to thank you, the parents and the teachers, for responding to a very difficult set of circumstances and in spite of that when you look at the GLAT exams and the BJC and the BGCSE, we see that this year was not lost. Notwithstanding the hurricanes, you did better than so many other schools whose infrastructure were intact.'
Mr Roberts said that upon his appointment as Minister of Works in May 2002, he met Chief Architect Livingston Forbes who shared his vision for improved education facilities on San Salvador .
'It is not only a school designed to take care of your present needs, it will make provisions for the expansion of your education facilities here and that is the way it ought to be done,' he said. 'We will also give the young people of San Salvador the kind of facilities that will allow them to excel not only academically, but also in the area of sports.'
Mr Roberts noted that schools constructed are falling apart 17 years later. But he acknowledged that maintenance is a two-part responsibility.
'It is not only the contractors fault. It is also the fault of the Ministry of Works for not providing proper oversight when the building was being constructed,' he said. 'It is a two-prong responsibility.'
Chief Architect in the Ministry of Works and Utilities Livingston Forbes shared his drawings of the proposed schools.
The primary school is designed to accommodate up to 200 students. It will be outfitted with 11 classrooms including a general science lab, computer lab, art and music rooms, an enclosed courtyard which would also be used as a hurricane shelter, a pre-school with separate bathrooms, sporting facilities to include a track comparable to the one located at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium, softball field, tennis and basketball courts, and other amenities. Additional classrooms will be added as the island population grows.
A similar design has been drafted for the high school to accommodate 250 students at the onset. The two-tier building will facilitate woodwork and home economic subjects, business and computer labs, music lab, a library, staff room, enclosed courtyard to also be used as a hurricane shelter and sporting facilities, among other conveniences.
Source: The Bahamas Information Service
