The Jost Van Dyke Primary School is expected to reopen today Wednesday September 22 after the majority of the issues identified recently have been rectified.
This is according to the Education Minister Dr. Natalio Wheatley who made the announcement while speaking on the VIP Lets Talk radio programme last night.
He said the works completed included mold removal and electrical, air conditioning and plumbing repairs.
“We identified that we had some electrical issues there, we had some plumbing issues there, we had some issues with the AC and we had some issues with mold. Now, the mold work has been completed…We had some electrical work which has been completed. Plumbing works I believe have been completed, I have to double check because some of this work was ongoing and school should be ready for reopening on tomorrow, which is Wednesday,” he stated.
Retrofitted trailers secured
Minister Wheatley also revealed that following discussions with the relevant stakeholders of the Jost Van Dyke Primary School, a decision was made to secure three retrofitted trailers to accommodate students who utilised the library building of the school which is no longer deemed appropriate for teaching.
He said, “The premiere and I along with the Assistant Secretary in the Ministry, Ms. Lorna Stevens, as well as one of the maintenance supervisor Mr. Hathaway, traveled over to Jost Van Dyke Primary School, last week once we became aware of some of the specific issues that the school had and we were able to collaborate with the principal and the teachers to come up with some solutions to make the students there more comfortable, which would involve retrofitting some trailers.”
He added, “And thanks be to God, you know, the premier informed me just a while ago that we had secured all three trailers that we’re going to use. Of course, you know, we wanted to move quickly to ensure that we identify it and we secure the trailers that we will be retrofitting to make those young people more comfortable.”
Trailers will be utilised until new building is completed
The education minister also explained the use of the trailers, adding that they will be made available until the new Jost Van Dyke Primary School building has been completed.
“The trailers will allow those young persons to come out of the building. Basically, there was a building that used to be a library that was basically turned into a school and the young persons were in that building. And of course, you know, we set out to build a new school but of course, with some of the challenges which have been identified, we have determined that the best thing to do is to take the children out of that structure, put them in these are retrofitted trailers while the school is being built and the principal, the teachers, and the parents seemed to accept this and be comfortable with this idea,” he explained.
These developments follow the recent action taken by teachers of the school last week who protested against the horrid conditions that were present within the school building.
The protest went viral across the territory and the minister responsible Dr. Wheatley was met with harsh criticism.
Dr. Wheatley along with his team met with the frustrated teachers to listen to their many concerns and issues.
According to the minister some of these issues have now been addressed.