In the aftermath of the deadly fire at the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School in Region Eight (Potaro- Siparuni), Education Minister Priya Maickchand said different options are being explored to allow the children to complete their secondary education.
Among those options is allowing children who attended the school, but were not involved in the fire, to write their Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations during the ongoing May/ June cycle or in January 2024.
For those children who decided to sit the examinations now, as they were scheduled to, the Education Minister said they will be afforded a second chance to re-sit those examinations subsequently if their results are not satisfactory.
But for the children directly involved in the fire, other options must be considered.
“Of the children who were directly affected, we have begun to talk to them and their parents about what options can work for them given all kinds of other present circumstances, including their psychological state of mind, and we are working to see what some of the best options could be,” Manickchand added.
The Education Minister affirmed that all decisions have been taken in consultations with the children and their families. She said emphasis has been placed on allowing them to choose what they want.
A total of 20 children – 19 girls and a five-year-old boy – died from the horrific fire which occurred on May 21 in the remote Region Eight community.
The 20th victim, Sherana Daniels, succumbed to her injuries days later at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
All 20 children have been laid to rest and the government has committed to a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the tragedy.
