Simpson Miller made the announcement in Parliament yesterday while expressing sadness at the incident. She said the "Government will assist the family in any way it can".
The prime minister was among several parliamentarians who commiserated on the accident, which was brought up on the Motion for Adjournment by Member of Parliament (MP) Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert (Southern Trelawny), who is the shadow spokesperson on education and human resource development.
The fourth formers were among a group of about 40 students who went on a trip to a St Mary banana plantation to complete a School-Based Assessment project. Before heading back to Kingston, the bus with the students and four teachers stopped at a beach in Portland, where the two boys drowned.
Yesterday, Opposition MP for North Central Clarendon, Pearnel Charles, begged for leniency in the treatment of the teachers involved in the matter.
"Don't crucify the teachers in this situation because it's not deliberate," Charles said, noting that as a parent himself he could well understand the anguish now being experienced by the parents and family of the students as well as the school community.
Government MP for South East St Andrew Julian Robinson, also commenting on the issue, urged sensitivity, noting that "obviously something went very wrong" and was a point of suffering for all involved, including the teachers themselves.
