With ongoing construction being carried out at five government public schools, Antigua & Barbuda’s Education Minister Michael Brown is assuring the public that it will be business as usual with no disruption anticipated to regular school.
“For the most part, in most of the schools, the areas where the construction will take place, while school is going on… I think just about all the principals have insisted that they want the work to continue. It’s a matter of cordoning off the area where construction will be taking place.
“Students, teachers and parents and the community, do understand and appreciate that while the renovation is taking place, it will be for the benefit of the overall school community and for educational purposes as well,” Browne said.
According to the minister, the five public schools that are currently undergoing renovations are Antigua Girls’ High School, Princess Margaret, Clare Hall Secondary, All Saints Secondary and the Jennings Secondary School.
“The Antigua Girls’ High School is one of the schools where no classroom space has been eliminated. We’ve simply moved the building to the side, so they will be able to go back and forth.
“The ministry, along with the Public Works, have undertaken to build 50 thousand square feet of space in two months. That’s a record both for public and the private sector,” he added.
Minister Browne reminded the public that it took months of consultation and planning with key members of a task force to include principals, contractors and unions to properly manage the upgrade of these schools.