"Metal School" To Be
Closed
The announcement of the
closure of the Escuela
Buenaventura Corrales,
more commonly known as
the "metal building"
diagonal to the Parque
Morazan in downtown San
Jos has generate a lot
of anger and distress
among teaches, students
and their families.
The 1.300 students of
the school will be
returning to classes
after their 15 day
school break to new
school.
The decision by the
Ministerio de Educación
Pública (MEP) to close
the school follows a
report by that has
detected a series of
serious structural
damage to the building.
The school will be
effectively closed on
Friday July 4 and
students will be
starting their classes
after their vacation in
new schools, a school of
the choice of the
students and parents, as
long as their space in
the school chosen.
A group of parents have
joined the 50 teachers
of the school to protest
the MEP decision. To
counter the protest, MEP
vice minister, Sylvia
Víquez, told the group
that if the experts give
the green light, the
school could continue to
operate partially in the
areas deemed safe.
Edcuation minister,
Leonardo Garnier, said
that the lack of regular
maintenance and wear and
tear of the metal parts
of the structure, in
some places held
together my plastic
ties, places the
students, teachers and
anyone else in the
building at risk.
The structure is a state
patrimony and will be
evaluated by experts of
Ministerio de Cultura to
restore it.
The two storey building
was designed in France
and prefabricated in
Belgium. The pieces were
shipped piece by piece
from Europe and
constructed in San José
in the 1890's.
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