TTUTA happy La Romaine Sec to be repaired

THE La Romaine Secondary School will be repaired over the July/August vacation and will be ready for the opening of the new term in September.

The school has been in the limelight since May 29 when teachers walked out on the advice of their union after an electrical fire in the integrated science lab, citing health and safety reasons.

Parents and teachers were concerned that the school was not among those earmarked for repair over the vacation. But yesterday Education Minister Anthony Garcia issued a release telling parents, teachers and students major electrical and infrastructural repairs will be done.

President of the TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai, who had been calling for urgent redress, said this was a step in the right direction.

Doodhai said TTUTA hopes the school will be ready come September. Noting the number of requests from students for transfers, he said this would be impossible for the ministry to entertain, and the next best thing is for the ministry to do the electrical work so the school would be back to normal by September.

The ministry said in a statement, “Among the electrical upgrades are the installation of electrical outlets and wiring in several school blocks, such as the administrative building, multi-purpose hall, library, washrooms and classrooms.”

It said the termite infestation problem in the pre-fabricated buildings will also be addressed. Since the fire on May 17, the ministry said, a contractor was hired to do repairs such as installing new electrical mains, cables and wiring.

The electrical inspectorate also identified other electrical issues to be addressed by August 21.

“The Electrical Inspectorate Official subsequently visited and issued a provisional certificate, indicating that the remedial works were in compliance with the Electrical Installation Inspection Act, thereby certifying that the school is safe for occupation.” The ministry said this provisional document was necessary for school to resume until the end of last term on July 6