Classes at fire hit President's College resume Tuesday
Guyana Chronicle
April 28, 2004
CLASSES will resume at President's College, Golden Grove, East Coast Demerara, next Tuesday, following the mysterious Monday fire which destroyed a dormitory that housed more than 100 senior students.
Meantime, Government will be spending some $2.5M to provide assistance to those who lost all their belongings in the conflagration, each student getting about $25,000, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced during a visit to the disaster scene.
After the blaze was extinguished, he also gave the assurance that Government will ensure accommodation for the displaced.
Ten of the affected students were placed in other dormitories while others opted to go home or stay with relatives and some overnighted.
Principal of the School of Excellence, Mr Stanley Lewis said the Ministry of Education is in contact with the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) authorities to find a solution to the problem of those candidates whose School Based Assessments (SBAs) were burnt.
Forty-two of the displaced children are from East Berbice, 25 from Essequibo and West Demerara, four from the hinterland, 14 from Linden and the rest from East Coast Demerara and Georgetown.
A Tuesday, May 4 meeting will gather parents, guardians and students to discuss welfare and other relevant matters.
The origin of the flames is still being investigated but the loss of books, clothing, other valuables and money for staff salaries has been estimated at approximately $100M.