Education officials probe school fires

Mar 27, 2013 News

– Exam students evacuated at La Parfaite, midnight blaze at M’cony

By Leonard Gildarie

Over 80 students writing the National Grade Six Assessment at the La Parfaite Harmonie Primary School, West Bank Demerara, had to be evacuated yesterday after fire of unknown origin broke out.
It was the second fire at a school within hours – the other occurred late Monday night at the Bygeval Secondary School, Chelsea Park, West Mahaicony.

Fire rages in the L-shaped structure

The blaze at La Parfaite completely destroyed offices of the Head Mistress and rooms where a Nursery School for children of that new housing scheme was being temporarily housed.
The $60M school was only commissioned 18 months ago on October 29, 2011.
Firefighters from the Guyana Fire Service and Wales Sugar Estate rushed to the scene and battled with water supply for over an hour before bringing the blaze under control. But by that time, the damage to the one-flat structure was substantial.
There was extensive damage to the L-shape building including to its roof. Parts of it collapsed.
Firefighters were forced to use sledgehammers to break open a number of the locked doors as teachers, students and stunned residents looked on helplessly.
Officials from the Region Three administration including Chairman Julius Faerber, and Regional Education Officer (REdO), Marilyn Jones-O’Donoghue, were also on the scene.
According to the REdO, some 469 students of the primary school and 189 from the

Evacuated Grade Six students being counselled

nursery school were being housed in the structure.
It was only on Friday that government schools across the country broke for the Easter Holidays. But the Grade Six students, some 81 of them, were being accommodated for the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
The REdO said that she was told that education officials monitoring the students taking the exams smelled smoke. They sent a teacher to investigate. According to one teacher who gave her name as Ms. Candace, by that time the area around the HM’s office was enveloped in heavy smoke and fire.
“They could have only scrambled what was on the tables and evacuated the children.”
The children were writing Maths paper II, Kaieteur News was told.
Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam, who went to the scene, said that an assessment was underway to determine what measures will be put into place for the students writing the Grade Six exams. Critical decisions, he said, will also have to be made regarding the rest of the students when school reopens in two weeks.
This newspaper was told that it is believed that the school had experienced electrical problems and someone had fixed the lights so that they were continuously on.
Firefighters used water from the drains as worried residents assisted.

Worried residents, teachers and students look on.

After Diamond, La Parfaite Harmonie is the second largest housing scheme in Guyana. The school is the only one.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said that an investigation has been launched into Monday night’s fire at Bygeval Secondary.
Part of the head teacher’s quarters and four of six adjoining teachers’ quarters were completely destroyed by fire, the Ministry said.
Minister Priya Manickchand said that the Ministry will make every effort to ensure that teachers are adequately accommodated “as soon as possible”.
“A team of Education and Regional officials will investigate. A meeting of Regional officials including the Regional Chairman, the Regional Executive Officer and the Regional Education Officer is already in progress.”

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