Education Ministry Installing Ramps At Merl Grove High
By: , July 19, 2023
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe (left) and Acting Principal of the St. Andrew-based Merl Grove High School, Lorretta D. Rickets, look at areas of the school that are being retrofitted to accommodate a student who uses a wheelchair. Dr. Troupe visited the St. Andrew-based institution on Tuesday (July 18).
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe (right), speaks to reporters at the Merl Grove High School in St. Andrew on Tuesday (July 18), after assessing the progress of works to instal disability access ramps at the institution. Looking on is Acting Principal of Merl Grove High School, Lorretta D. Rickets.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe (left) and Acting Principal of the St. Andrew-based Merl Grove High School, Lorretta D. Rickets, tour sections of the institution that are being retrofitted to accommodate students with physical disabilities, during a visit to the institution on Tuesday (July 18).
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe (left), looks on while Acting Principal of the St. Andrew-based Merl Grove High School, Lorretta D. Rickets (right), points out areas of the institution being retrofitted to accommodate a student, who uses a wheelchair. In the background is Chairman of the school board, Rev. David Hall. Dr. Troupe visited the school on Tuesday (July 18) to assess the progress of works.The Full Story
Work has commenced on the building of access ramps at the Merl Grove High School in St. Andrew by the Ministry of Education and Youth.
The project, which is being undertaken at a cost of $2 million, will ensure that a student who uses a wheelchair, who was placed at the institution following the 2023 Primary Exit Profile (PEP), can safely and comfortably traverse the campus and access classrooms, departments, laboratories and other facilities.
Speaking with reporters during a visit to the school on Tuesday (July 18), Acting Chief Education Officer, Dr. Kasan Troupe, said that other phases of work will be undertaken.
She said that the Ministry has a responsibility to ensure that all students have full access to education.
As such, all newly built schools and institutions benefiting from major retrofitting or infrastructure works include facilities for persons with disabilities.
“Those were policy decisions that were taken with the passing of the Disabilities Act,” Dr. Troupe said, noting that some 300 institutions have been equipped in this regard.
She informed, further, that a project to build ramps at schools across the island that which was put on hold due to COVID-19 will resume shortly.
Dr. Troupe said that installing ramps at schools “is a massive” infrastructure undertaking, as most schools were built decades ago. She added that “many things were not considered at the time, but now every school that is being built is designed with an inclusion mindset”.
Meanwhile, Dr. Troupe is imploring primary-school principals to ensure that they provide comprehensive information about students who are entering high school, so that adequate provision can be made to meet their needs.
She noted that children with disabilities are a top priority and are the first students to be placed in the secondary education system.
Acting Principal of Merl Grove High School, Lorretta D. Rickets, said the institution has been accommodating students with disabilities, but it is the first time that the school will accommodate a pupil who uses a wheelchair.
She assured that the student will be in an environment of love, care and support at Merl Grove High.