Education Ministry Teams to Conduct Inspection of School Goalposts

Teams from the Ministry of Education and Youth will be visiting schools to conduct inspections of goalposts to ensure adherence with all established safety and quality standards governing institutions’ sports programmes.

Noting that schools must remain places of safety, former Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, said there are set standards for the equipment used in sports offered at schools, including goalposts.

She made the remarks during Wednesday’s (October 30) post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, where she expressed heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of late Campion College student Rashad Richards, who died following an accident involving a goalpost at the school on October 29.

“There are set standards for the equipment used in sports offered at schools, including goalposts, and these standards are in the Jamaican Standards Specifications for the Safety and Performance of Football Goals; it was the first to be completed at the time,” Mrs. Williams stated.

“It was created by the Ministry of Education and Youth in partnership with the Bureau of Standards Jamaica some years ago, and these Standards include how goalposts should be used and even how they should be secured when in and not in use. We will be reminding schools of these standards, and teams from the Ministry of Education and Youth will be conducting visits to inspect these goal posts and ensure adherence to the respective standards,” she added.

Mrs. Williams informed that the Ministry’s guidance counselling teams, along with those from other schools, will provide support to students and teachers at Campion, while encouraging persons to “keep Rashad’s family in our prayers”.