Plans to relocate St Benedict’s College

ST BENEDICT’ S College in La Romaine is expected to be relocated to a nearby location in the next few years said Msgr Christian Pereira. The 53-year-old school founded by Benedictine Monk, Dom Basil Matthews, at the Southern Main Road has several infrastructural problems.

“The Government promised some 14 acres of land in a slightly different location. It is just to make sure that it is negotiated properly by the Ministries of Education, Finance and Agriculture. Once that is in place, we can move forward with designs and our vision for a new St Benedict’s college,” Pereira said.

The relocation he said will be in keeping with the vision of Matthews whom he praised for establishing the college. Pereira was speaking to the media at the 66th Annual Convention of the Catholic Teachers’ Association of TT the St Benedict’s RC Church in La Romaine on the weekend.

“St Benedict’s has some infrastructural problems. With the infrastructural problems, we have some issues combined with the social ills. The college is going through a period of transition. It continues to do well in areas such as the performing arts, cultural actives and sports,” Pereira said.

Southern Division police receive reports of crimes in La Romaine regularly. When asked of his view of criminal activities in the area, Pereira said there are a lot of good things happening in La Romaine. He said while he is concerned about crime, he prefers to focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

“The more we focus on the evil, the more we promote it. I am conscious of drugs and the reality of drugs. We had a big funeral some time ago for a drug dealer who wanted to reform his life but got killed. His son is in our First Communion class. Drugs are not the most important thing to look after,” Pereira said.

“We are concerned about the infiltration of drugs and crimes in the community, but we are also trying to build the capacity of the community.”

Many RC-based schools are doing well academically but more needs to be done.

“We need to see greater teamwork among staff, greater leadership from principals and greater support from Parents/Teachers Association and perhaps from the business associations. This will enable the teachers to blossom,” Pereira said.