School to be closed Monday for industrial cleaning

Blackman and Gollop Primary School is expected to be closed on Monday, February 18.

The scheduled closure, says Minister of Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod, is in anticipation of the industrial cleaning that will be required, once work to clear nearby lands of cow itch, which has been plaguing the Christ Church school, is completed.

His comments came as he spoke to members of the media yesterday morning on the school compound, following a meeting between officials of his ministry; Acting Minister of Education, Science, Technological and Vocational Training, Lucille Moe, and officials of her ministry and representatives of PDF Investments, owner of the land where the cow itch is growing.

Yesterday it was announced that this weekend the land is to be scraped and that top soil buried in trenches to prevent the mature pods from the vine, which erupt during the dry season, from causing any further problems for the school. Adding to his comments, Minister Moe said that the cleaning of the school compound following that cleanup effort is top priority for them.

“Once that work is completed, then clearly the Ministry of Education will ensure that the school and its environs are properly cleaned, because of course our first priority is always to the children, the staff and the other workers at the Blackman Gollop School. We know that this is not a long-term solution, it is certainly a solution for the short- term, but we cannot afford to have any more loss of school time, certainly not at this time of the year,” she said.

Noting that the cow itch has been a problem for some time, Minister Moe said her ministry looks forward to a long-term solution being devised.

She said while it is difficult to eradicate, she is hopeful that they would be able to get it under control, such that it no longer inconveniences the school.

Her remarks came as she said that the complaints from the school this week about the cow itch have not been as intense as on previous occasions, which she suggested is perhaps in part because of the fire which occurred last week and resulted in the closure of the school last Friday.

“I think that would have mitigated the issue for now, but we wouldn’t want that again. So we think this seems to be a very reasonable solution… I must praise Minister Prescod for his quick and rapid response to this issue on every occasion it has been brought to his attention, he and his team, and I am very grateful to the Ministry of the Environment for assisting us in this matter,” Moe added.
(JRT)

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