The cause of the fire that devastated the St. George’s High School on Wednesday remained unknown yesterday.
Fire Prevention Officer Sheldon Sauns stated that the Guyana Fire Service’s investigators visited the scene to further investigate the cause of the fire, which gutted the upper flat of the two-storey building and severely damaged the interior of the ground floor.
Approximately 421 students have been displaced as a result of the damage to the building, located along Company Path, between North Road and Church Street, to the north east side of the St. George’s Cathedral.
On Wednesday, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand stated that the ministry was examining a few options to determine whether another school could accommodate all of the school’s students on an interim basis or whether the different grade levels would have to be separated. She, however, admitted that the possibility of another school accommodating all of the students was highly doubtful.
Meanwhile, in Facebook posts Bishop of the Angli-can Diocese of Guyana Charles Davidson noted that the school was built around 1809 or 1810 by the Anglican Church as part of their ministry to educate the slaves in the then colony. In a later post he said the land occupied by the school belongs to the Anglican Diocese of Guyana. “…and we are in no way planning to sell or build a hotel,” he said in the post.
In another post, Bishop Davidson lamented the disappearance of many historical buildings via fire or through being replaced by concrete.
“Asking that some of our oil money be used to upgrade and preserve these buildings,” he added.
He also said in the earlier post that the church was hopeful that politicians would come together to fund the National Trust to preserve historical buildings. “The Church spent over $175 million of its own money to preserve our cathedral but we need the help of our government and others in finishing the project,” he wrote in the post.
