CMC – St. Lucia’s Education Minister Shawn Edward says at least seven schools in the southern town of Vieux Fort will not re-open for the third term of the academic year on Monday as scheduled to facilitate psycho-social support interventions for principals, teachers, and ancillary staff.
Vieux Fort has been the scene of a surge in deadly gun violence with the government declaring the second town an escalated crime zone giving police expanded powers to battle criminal activity.
Several people, including a nine-year-old boy, were killed during the upsurge of violence.
He said two secondary schools and a special education school would be affected by the delay and that teachers at the seven schools would report on Monday, while students will attend classes a day later.
In his broadcast, Edward explained that the ‘troubling issue’ of school security and safety were among the priority areas, adding “this is a huge concern for us at it is for parents, principals, students and teachers…rest assured the Ministry of Education is taking steps to address this issue.
“One should expect to see a greater presence of security personnel on the ground, both police and private security…until such time as the situation improves as I expect it to given the interventions being made by Central Government,” Edward said.
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