Princes Town Presbyterian to seek help from UN

THE start of the second term of the academic year met students and parents of Princes Town Presbyterian No 1 and No 2 in traffic congestion and chaos at the school gate.

Princes Town Presbyterian No 2 was built to accommodate 500 students.

But when Presbyterian No 1 was demolished four years ago, students were placed in Presbyterian No 2. Today up to 1,100 students are cramped in a single school in a shift system.

PTA president of Presbyterian No 1, Nola Ramjohn-Karim, said parents had hoped 2019 would meet them in a better position, but nothing has changed.

“Parents met today and we are now considering writing to the United Nations under the issue of the rights of a child,” she said, as parents are at breaking point and cannot endure more of the issues affecting all 614 students of Presbyterian No 1.

“Some parents have had to leave their jobs in order to shuttle their children back and forth from school to the present location, in some cases four times a day.

“With the hike in the price of gas, transport is also an issue, as parents incur exorbitant costs in hiring taxis to take them to the Princes Town Presbyterian School No 2, which is some distance away,” she said.

Students, she said, are placed in a regimented system as they are not allowed to walk and play in the school grounds.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia, Karim said, spoke on television on Monday, saying he spoke to the Presbyterian Primary School board on rebuilding the school.

“This is stale news. The board and the PTA met on several occasions to discuss this matter. The PTA met with the minister himself and he promised the children a school in 2017 and in 2018 he changed his mind,” Ramjohn-Karim said, noting that it is now 2019 and there are no signs of the school being built.

A member of the board who wished to remain anonymous said there are number of schools under the Presbyterian board to be completed, including schools at Siparia/Union, Curepe, Woodbrook, Harmony Hall, Sangre Chiquito and Longdenville.

“Repairs to these schools started in 2014 under the previous administration and work stopped when this government came into power.”

Siparia/Union Presbyterian School, the board member said, is 90 per cent complete but work has stopped there too.