At least two snakes were found in the Anna Catherina Nursery School on Thursday, raising concerns about the safety of the students.
The state of the school’s compound is said to be the main cause of the reptiles’ presence.
Persons close to the West Coast Demerara school provided this newspaper with two photographs which showed a small snake in play area of the school and a larger one in the lavatory block. Stabroek News was told snakes are spotted in the compound regularly. It is unclear if this is
the first time the reptiles had entered the building.
When contacted, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam said that a regional official had confirmed that one snake was found in the building on Thursday and the cleaner killed it. He said that based on what was reported to him, there is no infestation of snakes at the school.
Sam stated that arrangements have been made by the region to spray the area today.
Stabroek News made contact with the Region Three Education Office but the person who answered the phone refused to identify himself or release any information on the issue.
A source explained that the nursery school and the St John’s Secondary were housed in the same compound up until a year ago. Since the secondary school was relocated, the compound has been overrun with bushes.
In addition to the bushes, this newspaper was told that there are also large trees and snakes are seen there on a weekly basis.
The source said persons at the school would usually see the snakes while noting that such a situation is dangerous. The source said that a meeting will be held next week with parents and some work is to be done in the compound over the weekend.
