Education Ministry to assist fire-displaced Mae’s students

Last Updated on Wednesday, 5 March 2025, 23:05 by Writer

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Wednesday said authorities have begun making arrangements to assist students of Mae’s school, Subryanville that was destroyed by fire.

“The government will support fully. As you know, we treat our private schools and our private school children the same way we do public schools with every intent and purpose,” she said.

She said the Examinations Division of the Ministry was putting in place systems to accommodate students who would be writing examinations by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and the Grade Six Assessment.

“We are just a couple of weeks away from Grade Six, making sure they are comfortable, they are seated, making sure the CXC children are also provided for, so as I speak, our Exams Division is currently looking at two places to try to make that determination but they’ll get our full support,” she told reporters at the scene

Ms Manickchand and teachers confirmed that all of the students were accounted for. “As far as we have been advised, every child is out. There are no children in the school,” she said. Fire Chief, Gregory Wickham said earlier Wednesday that there were no reported casualties as a result of the blaze that quickly swept through the decades-old wooden building.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a brief statement that, “preliminary reports indicate that the blaze began before 8:00 a.m. A parent at the scene recounted seeing a small fire inside one of the buildings. Despite efforts to extinguish it, the flames quickly spread, engulfing the entire school.”

As the news spread, parents and guardians rushed to collect their children, the vast majority of whom were mustered on the Farnum Playfield opposite the school.