The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has reached agreement with parents and staff on the temporary relocation of the students at the Glove Factory Building to allow for restorative work on the previous facility.
At a meeting last week Monday Deputy Director of NEMO Michelle Forbes explained that her organization is continuing the process of increasing emergency shelter capacity throughout the state.
She further noted that Kingstown was in need of an additional shelter, hence the proposed works at the school.
CPD’s Project Coordinator for the Regional Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (RDVRP), Richard MacLeish, noted that the school was assessed earlier in the year by an overseas consulting firm for its structural integrity and the next phase, a design consultancy, will commence shortly.
MacLeish also advised the gathering that construction was not likely to begin until mid-July 2015, and would last for approximately eight months.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Nicole Bonadie-Baker advised the stakeholders that relocation of the students and faculty to the former Glove Factory building, currently occupied by the Kingstown Anglican Primary School was the planned option along with an additional facility that would be erected in the immediate vicinity of the Glove Factory.
Bonadie-Baker also advised that works are planned for the Anglican School Annex, to which the approximately 200 students, who currently occupy the Glove Factory building, would return, noting that the completion of the Anglican School repairs is a critical factor in the temporary relocation of the operations of the Kingstown Government School.
Mr. Franklyn Browne of BRAGSA, indicated that his organization was in the process of completing estimates for the remedial works at the Glove Factory building to fully house the student population from Kingstown Government, inclusive of an additional building that would provide additional classrooms and other facilities.
