THA education division to form maintenance unit

The THA Division of Education, Research and Technology intends to introduce a new maintenance unit within the division.

Assistant Secretary of the Division Orlando Kerr made the announcement on Monday’s Tobago Updates morning programme.

He said: “We’re saying that we are going to build out a unit, and this unit will be tasked with the responsibility of going around to schools routinely – maintaining that schedule of maintenance.

"So that would be done year-round and therefore that would reduce the need for us to be doing certain kinds of things because we would have been treating with those issues in a proactive manner.”

He said the division’s plan is to try to be more proactive in the way it treats with the maintenance plans at schools. This unit, he said, will comprise of electricians, plumbers and air-condition technicians.

“These are the major areas that we recognise schools have challenges with throughout the year, and you have to be running like a headless chicken trying to get a contractor here and there to deal with these issues.”

Recalling that there was no vacation repair programme in 2021 owing to the closure of schools during the pandemic Kerr said the division had to play “catch up” in an effort to prepare schools for reopening.

“You must have some foresight and recognise that at some point in time, schools will reopen. We were challenged with the fact that our infrastructure is an ageing infrastructure, it was down for quite a while – maybe approximately two years – and as you are aware when infrastructure is not being used it deteriorates rather more quickly.”

He added: “Our plan in going forward is twofold. We are going to continue with the vacation repair programme because that is the period when you get to do major contracts at school, that July/August period when the children are away.”

Kerr also addressed the division's plan for a new Scarborough Secondary School.

“It is 17 years or 18 years now that school has been earmarked for relocation, so that we have to find some creative way of getting the funding to relocate Scarborough Secondary School – I mean, that is the reality. That school has gone past its life, but we have to try and find (funds).