GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn, saying the spike in the number of fires at schools “has to tell us something,” is urging the population to be vigilant.
“Primarily, it requires the communities, the parents, everyone, and the media to put out the message to protect the nation’s assets every time and particularly the future and education of children,” Benn said as he and Education Minister Priya Manickchand Thursday night toured the burnt out remains of the Christ Church Secondary School in Georgetown, the latest school to be destroyed by fire.
Benn said while the police were working on information regarding the fire, he hinted that the blaze might have been deliberately set.
“It would appear passing strange, and it would test the probability that within two or three weeks, we can have a fire at the same building at a prominent location in Georgetown where hundreds of children are working on their SBAs (School-Based Assessments) and other things,” he said;
He urged everyone to support the education system and said that the destruction of the Christ Church Secondary School was a “tremendous blow.”
Benn said that the spike in the number of fires at schools “has to tell us something,” with the authorities noting that a large section of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School was destroyed in June 2021, a blaze ravaged the St George’s Secondary School in July 2022. Arsonists destroyed the Mabaruma Secondary School in September 2021.
The Education Minister said two recent fires have caused the Ministry of Education to be “stretched for space” and that while she was not pointing to the cause of the latest fire, Guyanese must be mindful of “wildcards making wild statements” because Guyanese of all persuasions and backgrounds are affected by fires at schools.
“When schools burn, children of all color, of all religions, whose parents vote all over for everybody, male, female, everybody suffers, and so we have to collectively take a stand in this country that we will not let careless speech, we will not let careless persons interfere with our children’s future,” she added.
Manickchand said the government was trying hard to make Guyanese compete in education.
Meanwhile, the Christ Church Secondary School students are to be relocated from Monday next week, and the Ministry of Education said it is consulting the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) regarding options for students whose records have been destroyed.
“We are talking to CXC. We have a couple of options and want to examine what will be in the best interest of these children,” Manickchand said, adding that the students would be consulted and provided the options and “let’s see how we can cross this together.”
Chief Education Officer of the Ministry of Education, Saddam Hussain, said the school had 39 teachers, nine ancillary staff and 502 students who would all have to be relocated to other schools.
The Minister of Education said CXC had been asked to explore the options available to students.
“To the students of Christ Church, let’s stand together. This is your chance to show the world, to show everyone that a fire is not going to stop you,” she said, urging Fourth and Fifth Form students to “put your heads down for the next few months… concentrate on your work and let us rise from this together.”
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