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Education Minister Shawn Edward has defended the decision to close schools on Monday due to inclement weather.
Asked to respond to criticism that the authorities are too quick to take such action, the Dennery North MP said he disagreed.
“I think the most important thing for us in the Ministry of Education is the safety of students and teachers,” Edward declared in an interview on the sidelines of a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday morning.
And he explained that amid inclement weather, the authorities must make a quick assessment.
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“We felt that we acted correctly in asking students to stay home, ” he stated.
The Minister also responded to concerns regarding the announcement’s timing.
It came on Monday morning when some students might have already left for school.
Edward acknowledged that the ideal would be for the notice to come out as early as possible.
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“But you can’t always be ahead of the systems when they come,” he stated.
In this regard, Edward observed that the Ministry of Education works closely with the Saint Lucia Meteorological Services, the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), and other agencies before a decision.
“For me as Minister of Education, I am prepared to lose an entire week of instruction than having a child be swept away by flood waters and then to reflect and probably think that the decision should have been made to close schools,” the Minister declared.
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