TTUTA: Ministry to put up new fence at Belmont Secondary

PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Martin Lum Kin says the Education Ministry has begun the tender process for a new fence at the Belmont Secondary School.

However, he said, no definitive timeline was given.

On April 28, gunmen entered through a broken fence at the back of the school.

This led to protests by parents, as well as teachers and students not attending school.

The broken fence has since been fixed and other possible entrances near drains have been blocked off.

Speaking to Newsday on Monday, Lum Kin said he met with teachers at the school to update them on a meeting he attended with officials from the ministry and OSHA.

He said teachers have resumed work as normal, since they are "law-abiding citizens," adding that their second refusal-to-work request was not approved, so they had to apply for the day off.

He urged teachers to monitor the situation and to immediately report any further security breaches to the association.

"It was about having TTUTA present and assuring that we will follow up on their behalf."

Asked if the association is satisfied with the temporary fixes, he said "not completely...

"However, we take note that the ministry is addressing the situation.

"We were also advised that tenders have gone out for the replacement for the fence along the Lady Young Road, and once the tenders have been completed, they will start construction."

He added, "The ministry has given the assurance that once they have all the resources and materials in place, they will start as soon as possible."

The new fence, he said, will be a "security fence," as opposed to a chain-link fence, which will "prevent easy cutting."