GREAT BAY--The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport has provided an update on public school maintenance, with specific attention to the situation at Marie Genevieve de Weever School and ongoing building assessments. Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs addressed recent concerns by clarifying that the assessments carried out at public schools by the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) were requested by her as minister.
The inspections were commissioned in order to obtain a comprehensive and professional overview of the maintenance needs across the public school system. They were not surprise inspections, but part of a deliberate effort to map out what is required to move toward more structural and coordinated maintenance.
The goal of these assessments is to identify feasible solutions within the existing budgetary constraints and to work toward a plan for comprehensive maintenance across all public schools. The Minister acknowledged that some issues should have been resolved since January and indicated that this will be addressed internally within the ministry.
She expressed appreciation to all public school managers and teachers for their patience in dealing with issues that have developed over many decades. While the origins of the problems stretch back over time, the Minister acknowledged her responsibility as the current officeholder to work on resolving them and to improve conditions in a sustainable way.
Regarding Marie Genevieve de Weever School specifically, the Minister thanked the Division of Exams for making part of its space available so that one or more classes from Marie Genevieve de Weever can continue lessons while classroom problems at the school are being resolved.
On Monday, November 7, the Minister that announced an urgent Stop Order for several classrooms at the Marie Genevieve de Weever (MGDW) School after inspectors from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) discovered extensive signs of rat and pigeon infestations during an environmental health inspection.
The Ministry of ECYS will continue working with school management, teachers and relevant partners to chart a realistic way forward for public school maintenance and to limit disruption to students as remedial works are carried out.
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