THE EDUCATION Ministry says it will know by Monday where the Aglandja Gymnasium, where two construction workers were killed last week, will be moved.
Education Minister Akis Cleanthous met with the House Education Committee yesterday in an urgent meeting to discuss the safety of the school’s building and the transferral of the school’s pupils to other establishments.
The Chairman of the Committee, Nicos Tornaritis, said Parliament had requested the ministry employs a specialist to examine whether the school building was appropriate or whether it should be demolished altogether.
Tornaritis also expressed his committee’s disappointment at the image projected by state services during the meeting.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Education Ministry blamed the Labour Ministry, the Labour Ministry said the Education Ministry was to blame, while others said the contractor was responsible.
Cleanthous said his ministry’s efforts were centred on finding a new building for the school’s pupils to be transferred to – a decision he estimated would be finalised by Monday.
He added that the pupils would remain in other establishments until construction works have ended at the school and the building has been inspected.
The minister said he couldn’t comment on the work accident, however, as an investigation was under way.
Despite the fact that all the necessary safety measures had been followed by teachers and pupils at Aglandja, Cleanthous said he had ordered ministry officials to inspect all 137 working sites that are currently set up on the island’s schools to make sure the safety measures were being adhered to.
Tornaritis said DISY had requested the appointment of an independent investigator to examine the reasons behind the fatal accident.
He added the Labour Department had told the committee it hadn’t been informed on the work that was being carried out at the school, neither by the Education Ministry nor by the constructor.
“We can’t continue to play with the lives of our children,” said Tornaritis, adding that the most prominent thing to come out of the meeting was that the pupils at Aglandja should be transferred to another building immediately.
He stressed that if the expert that will inspect the school building shows any doubts, then Parliament would request the school’s demolition.
The spokesman for the gymnasium’s parents’ association, Marios Argirides, said despite assurances that the building was safe, parents remained concerned over their children’s safety.
