Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Lisa Morris have extended their condolences to the family and friends of three children who died in a house fire earlier today. The following is a press release from the Ministry of Education:
The Ministry of Education’s line Ministers, Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Lisa Morris-Julian extend sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ezekiel Burke, a Form Five (5) student of Blanchisseuse Secondary School. The seventeen (17) year-old student perished in a house fire, along with two other siblings, aged six and three, earlier this morning in Rookery Nook, Maraval, Port of Spain.
His fifteen-year old (15) sister Jenecia Burke, who is also a Form 4 student of Blanchisseuse Secondary School, and another sibling escaped the fire.
Officers of the Students Support Services Division (SSSD) of the Ministry of Education have been contacted and have already scheduled virtual counselling sessions for Ezekiels’s sister Jenecia, the rest of his family and his classmates.
Principal of the Blanchisseuse Secondary School, Hashim Johnson has also contacted officers of the Employees Assistance Programme (EAP) to provide counselling for the teachers of the school. Mr. Johnson said the deceased student, Ezekiel Burke was a well-mannered, ambitious, and respectful student and will be greatly missed by his peers and teachers.