Ramdial: What about Carapichaima AC?

NO TO ROWLEY: Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial who hit PM Dr Rowley’s plea to central Trinidad voters to give the PNM a chance in upcoming national elections.
NO TO ROWLEY: Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial who hit PM Dr Rowley’s plea to central Trinidad voters to give the PNM a chance in upcoming national elections.

COUVA North MP Ramona Ramdial is alleging a lack of action to accommodate pupils of Carapichaima Anglican Primary School, which was damaged by the August 21, 2018 earthquake.

It remains unfit for habitation, as announced by the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Occupational Safety and Health Authority.

While Education Minister Anthony Garcia spoke about Claxton Bay Junior School at yesterday’s post-Cabinet briefing, Ramdial told Newsday he should also address the Carapichaima school.

“They found alternative accommodation for the Carapichaima children at California Government Primary School, but it is extremely far – a 20-minute drive, going from Couva North to Couva South. It was very inconvenient.”

She said a Ministry of Education shuttle had proven unreliable.

Further, an issue had arisen at the California school, whose own pupils were not attending.

Ramdial lamented, “So I now have over 100 students at home. We have SEA pupils.”

She said the Ministry of Education had agreed to the use of a UTT building at Waterloo as an alternative site for the Carapichaima pupils, but there are no funds to omake it suitable.

“They have not started on it yet. The minister keeps saying, ‘Yes, yes,’ but nothing is happening.”

She said the Anglican Board hadtaken a hands-off approach.

The school PTA will meet soon to decide on its next move, which could be a public protest, she said.

. “It’s a terrible situation. There is no repair at Carapichaima Anglican nor any refurbishment at the UTT site. It is inconvenient. It is frustrating.”

Garcia told Newsday he was not aware of any structural problem at the California school.

“It is structurally sound. It was opened in 1990.”

He said his ministry’s technical officers must do an assessment of the UTT site, report to the permanent secretary and then source funds for refurbishing it.

On the Carapichaima school building, Garcia said repairs cannot be done without the nod of the Anglican Board.

“We have over 700 schools in TT, and we are doing our best to ensure they are all managed well and their physical structures are good. Some are old, so some breakdowns are expected from time to time.

“Seven hundred schools will tell us we have a lot to do, and we have been doing our work excellently.”

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