Board Members Talk Next Step
The Vuci Methodist School board members will meet tomorrow to discuss the approach they will take after four classrooms, library and computer laboratory were razed by fire on Friday afternoon.
The fire destroyed four classrooms of a wooden structure, a computer lab and the Nausori school’s library.
School manager, Sarojani Prasad said she never thought that the school would one day be destroyed by a fire.
“I received a call at 6:25pm about the fire and went there as soon as possible. The fire started from a classroom in the middle before it spread. The fire spread fast because the building was wooden.” Mrs Prasad said. “Good thing the National Fire Authority was able to contain the fire before it spread to the other building.
“On Monday we will get to know what step we will take because during the board members meeting we will sort details of what we will do. The cost of repairing the building is about $90,000 and that is the cost of the material and labour. “Three of the buildings were opened in 2015 and the other three in 2017. We had about 12 computers in our computer lab and our library was upto-date.
“We hope to get as much help as we can because we don’t want students to be affected. It will probably take six months for us to rebuild the four classrooms that were destroyed.” Assistant head teacher, Rajend Singh Somas is pleading with parents and guardians to let their children come to school.
“The school year has already started and the children will be accommodated. I cannot guarantee which classrooms they will be in, but surely they will be having normal classes,” Mr Somas said.
“Parents and guardians please do not keep your children at home. Send them to school because we are going to accommodate our children. They are our first priority. The parents are not to worry about the classrooms that burned down.”
The school was built in 1939. The school roll is 900 students. The four classrooms that burned down catered for about 200 students.
The cost of repairing the building is about $90,000 and that is the cost of the material and labour. Sarojani Prasad Vuci Methodist School manager