Faulty sewer closes school more than two months

UPDATE:

STUDENTS of Mt Pleasant Government Primary school and their parents yesterday staged a noisy mid-morning protest in front of the Ministry of Education’s Victoria district office on Sutton Street in San Fernand, to highlight the school’s continued closure because of a faulty sewer system.

The school, at Soledad Road, Claxton Bay, has an enrolment of 220 students. At 10 am, parents and children arrived in several maxi taxis and assembled in front of the ministry, where they unfurled placards, several of which read: “No sewer, no school”; “Fix our school sewer, we are important too” and: “Since Jan 15 our kids are at home.”

PTA president Barbara Phillip said parents have been homeschooling their children, as the school has been closed since January 15 and no alternative arrangements were made to accommodate them elsewhere. “We are out here today because our sewer is no longer working and we want it fixed now,” she stressed. “The SEA (Secondary Entrance Assessment) students would not be able to write their exams because there is no school for them right now.

“They are at home, everyone is at home. The other children would not be able to move up to the other standards.” She said although the issue has been ongoing for the past two years, the sewer required regular maintenance. “It wasn’t in a bad condition, it just needed servicing. If they came and did that, it would not have reached to this. So right now it is no longer operational.”

Asked about alternative arrangements with other nearby schools, she said several parents tried to get their children transferred but were told there was no room at the other schools. Tara Narine, the mother of a standard five student, said her son may have to repeat the SEA exam because of the number of classes he had missed.

An Education Ministry official said a contract had been issued by the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) since mid-February but the contractor had not been mobilised because of outstanding issues. But the official said the contractor was expected to begin work at the school yesterday.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Parents and students of Mt. Pleasant Government Primary School staged a noisy mid-morning placard demonstration in front of the Ministry of Education’s Victoria education district, Sutton Street, San Fernando today to highlight the school’s continued closure because of a faulty sewer system.

The school is located at Soledad road, Claxton Bay.

PTA president Barbara Phillip said parents have been forced to “home school” their children as the school has been closed since January 15 and no alternative arrangements have been made with other schools to accommodate the students.