Holness

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following an emission of chlorine gas at the Maggotty High School in St Elizabeth last Wednesday, the Ministry of Education is seeking to place in the hands of school administrators four books that provide guidelines for safety and security.

"You must be proactive and ultimately have control over your domain. When you have your management meeting, you must have the issue of safety and security on the agenda," said Education Minister Andrew Holness in his address at the Association of Principals and Vice-Principals annual retreat at the Iberostar Resort in Montego Bay yesterday.

Guidelines

The books, which are to be forwarded to schools next week, will deal with security and safety policy guidelines, guidelines to schools for the management of hazardous materials, hazardous equipment and the disposal of hazardous waste, a critical incident management plan and safety guidelines for contact sports.

Minister Holness said that in light of the recent chlorine-exposure incident, principals needed to ensure that safety and security formed part of their management function; they needed to established a committee with primary responsibility for security issues as "the ministry does not have the capacity to supervise every school to ensure they are following the guidelines".

On Wednesday, the St Elizabeth Fire Department had to respond to an incident of chlorine gas emission that reportedly occurred after a student punctured an old cylinder on the Maggotty High School compound.

A representative from the St. Elizabeth Fire Department confirmed that the cylinder should not have been on the school compound, as the school should have ordered the National Water Commission to remove it.

Students from Maggotty High and the Glen Stuart Primary Schools had to receive treatment at the hospital after experiencing chlorine poisoning.

Since the harmful gas exposure, Opposition Spokesperson on Education, Senator Basil Waite, issued a statement asking the Government to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and to conduct an audit of the safety guidelines currently employed at the institution.