MINISTRY OF EDUCATION ACTS SWIFTLY AND DECISIVELY TO SAFEGUARD HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY OF THE CAYON HIGH SCHOOL

 

Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 03, 2019 (SKNIS): The health and wellbeing of the staff and students at the Cayon High School are of the utmost priority of the Government of National Unity. The Ministry of Education has thus worked “swiftly and decisively” to address a mold problem that was recently reported by the school, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, the Honourable Shawn Richards.   

The deputy prime minister made these remarks at a Sitting of Parliament on Tuesday, September 03. He noted that there was a presence of mold in the school’s science labs.

The Ministry of Education received a written report from the Cayon High School indicating that it was evident that mold was present at the schools science labs.

He stated that the Ministry of Education immediately engaged the Bureau of Standards to conduct testing in the science labs and other areas of the school.

“The test carried out by the Bureau of Standards confirmed that mold was present in the science labs,” he reported. “As a matter of fact, the report, Mr. Speaker, stated that only the two labs, which are the biology lab and a chemistry lab, had an amount of mold that was in excess of what would be considered to be acceptable.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richards said that the report also confirmed that the levels of mold found were not significantly high. The science labs were cleaned, cupboards removed and subsequently retesting has taken place.

The Ministry of Education convened numerous meetings with the staff of the Cayon High School to give updates on what steps were taken to address the presence of mold in the science labs, said Deputy Prime Minister Richards.

“The concerns of the teachers were addressed; many of their suggestions were taken into consideration in determining the way forward,” he said. “As a result of discussions with the teachers, other spaces on the school’s campus were tested. The results of these tests would be made available on receipt.” 

The deputy prime minister stated that the test results would have already been received. However, due to Hurricane Dorian being in the vicinity of the island last week, there was difficulty sending out the samples via FedEx or DHL.

“The samples, however, have since been sent,” he said. “As you might be aware yesterday was a holiday in the US so we are hoping that between today and tomorrow we will have the results of the recent tests, which were done at the Cayon High School.”