Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 23, 2022 (SKNIS): Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Infrastructure, the Honourable Shawn Richards, has pledged to have the Joshua Obadiah Williams Primary School in Molineux repaired in the shortest possible time, after a massive fire destroyed the main compound of the learning institution on Friday, March 18.
“As the Minister of Public Infrastructure, as I have said to the principal and I now say to the entire public, the ministry will give its fullest support to ensure that the school is repaired within the shortest possible period of time so that the students can return to this facility,” said Minister Richards during a tour on Tuesday, 22nd March, 2022.
As the former Minister of Education, who visited the Joshua Obadiah Williams Primary School on several different occasions, Minister Richards reflected on the damage, noting that it changed the entire structure of what was once there.
“What has been left here after the fire certainly doesn’t resemble what we have seen prior to when one considers that this is a place of education, a place where our children come, a place where the future generation of St. Kitts and Nevis would come to get their education so that they eventually can take the reins, not just of government, but in terms of leading this country, developing this country,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Minister Richards noted that it is important to take several things into consideration when undertaking new constructions, as well as repairing and upgrading learning facilities.
“Hopefully it would be an improved facility and it also means that going forward we have to look at the type of facilities that we build, we have to look at the type of security that we provide at these particular institutions to minimize the effects of things such as fire happening again to disturb the education of our children,” he said.
Currently, students and teachers are temporarily housed at the Explorers Youth Clubs Headquarters for classes. They reported for orientation and psychological support on Monday, March 21, and instruction began on March 22.
