New Micobie Secondary School to accommodate students affected by Mahdia fire

A new secondary school will be constructed at Micobie, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), as the Government remains committed to aiding communities in the aftermath of the fatal fire at the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory back in May.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand stated that work on the design of the school is currently underway, with it expected to accommodate 150 to 200 students.
In the interim, Grades Nine, 10 and 11 students who were housed at the Mahdia Secondary School dorm were presented with the option of attending President’s College in the academic year.

“Micobie Secondary is going to be built for the other students as well as those 29 students who just finished Grade Six,” Manickchand said.
“Primary Tops are going to be open and resourced in Chenapao and possibly El Paso,” she added.
On May 21, a fire engulfed the Mahdia Secondary School girls’ dormitory, claiming the lives of 19 female students and a five-year-old boy, and almost entirely destroying the building.
This dormitory usually housed 59 students from Karisparu, El Paso, Micobie and Chenapao, given the lack of secondary schools in the individual communities.
Manickchand explained that affected parents have expressed their resistance towards seeing another dorm reconstructed on the original land.
“The parents have been very clear to us. They don’t want a dorm rebuilt at that location.
I don’t know necessarily a conclusive position on whether they would accept a dorm generally, perhaps not at that location,” Manickchand said.
Following the tragic fire, the Government has been offering medical and mental health support as well as financial assistance in the form of a $5 million sum given to each family of the 20 children who died.
Meanwhile, the members of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) were on Thursday sworn in before President Dr Irfaan Ali to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the event and make recommendations to ensure it does not reoccur.
A fifteen-year-old student was charged with 20 counts of murder for her alleged involvement in the fire, with initial reports indicating previous altercations with the school’s administration.