MOE to inspect school furniture, equipment

The Ministry of Education is scheduled to begin investigations into the quantities of furniture and equipment that have been damaged or destroyed in schools all over St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

At a press conference held on Monday, Permanent Secretary Nicole Bonadie-Baker explained that principals of schools are expected to give quarterly reports as to how many pieces of furniture were destroyed or damaged in a school term, so that the ministry can work on having them repaired and put back into the schools.

She, however, said that the reports are not always submitted and, as a result, there are requests for large numbers of furniture for schools at the end of the school year.

“Every year, each September, there is always a hue and cry that some of the schools do not have adequate furniture,” Bonadie-Baker said.

The Permanent Secretary said she understood it is often a difficult task for principals to monitor the use of furniture or wilful destruction by students or other users of the schools.

Therefore, officers from units under the Education Research Information Communication and Technology Department will be assisting the principals by going out to primary and secondary schools on a quarterly basis and recording the number of items of furniture and equipment that have been damaged or destroyed, so that necessary action can be taken to rectify the situation, she said.(BK)