Flanagin Town RC opens Monday

SHARLENE RAMPERSAD

After two weeks of no school, classes will resume at the Flanagin Town RC School on Monday.

Head of the school’s Parent Support Group Latesha Meharris told Sunday Newsday that works to repair a collapsed fencing around the construction site for a school building begun on Thursday and parents have been told the contractor will work through the weekend to ensure the job is completed by tomorrow.

Two weeks ago, the group staged a fiery protest, calling on the Ministry of Education to repair the fallen fence, which had collapsed into the area where the students assembled on mornings.

Some 65 students are being housed in the Flanagin Town RC Church as they await a new school building.

Meharris told Sunday Newsday that the original school building burnt flat in 1938 and since then, the community has used the church for schooling.

The church itself is in dire need of repairs as there are leaks in the roof, broken hinges and doors, broken window panes and the most of the wooden fittings are infested with woodlice.

Both buildings had once stood on the same compound. When a new school was promised in 2014, the building was supposed to be constructed on the same compound.

But since then, only a retaining wall was built and the fence was erected.

But Meharris said the parents count the repairs of the fence as a minor victory as their children will be going back to school.

“Two weeks is a long time for children to miss classes, we are so grateful that the work is being done now and they will be able to go back to school,” she said.

However, she said they have not forgotten the war.

“Although we are very glad to have them back in school, we still need a proper school building. We need a new school, I hope that when this is over, they don’t forget us again.”

Last Sunday, Education Minister Anthony Garcia said the ministry is in talks with the RC board about the school’s construction.