Protests over St Dominic's RC intensify

Protests by residents of Penal Rock Road and Clarke Road, Penal and parents of students of the the St Dominic’s RC Primary School intensified on Friday, with police and fire officers having to be called in.

Parents have been calling for a new school for their children, as they claim one of the buildings that currently house the school is unsafe and not conducive to learning.

In 2017 the school was damaged by an earthquake and students were relocated to two different facilities – standards one to five are being accommodated at the Penal Community Centre, while the infants' department is housed at the parish hall of St Dominic’s RC Church.

After six years, parents claim the accommodation at the centre is unsafe, unhealthy and quite uncomfortable, as the ceilings is collapsing, the toilets are overflowing, there is faulty plumbing, electrical issues and the facility floods.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Martin Lum Kin said at one time a piece of the ceiling fell on one of the desks, but fortunately no one was in that spot at the time.

Lum Kin said the protest is justified.

Parents protested on Thursday after numerous unsuccessful requests for a new building. On Friday, they were joined by residents who blocked several strategic points along Latchoo Road. Debris which littered the road was set on fire.

Fire officers extinguished the blaze and cleared the rubble, but unwittingly engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the demonstrators, who re-lit and blocked the asphalt path.

At one point there were verbal clashes between residents and the police and army officers, but no arrests were made.

Parents said the protest will continue.

“We have to do this until we get something proper for our children. We don’t want them to thief or do drugs, so we will be burning fires from now until we get our new school,” one parent said.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby Dolly said rain on January 2 would have caused some damage to the ceiling and tiles that had already been repaired at the school building.

She said a request for the roof assessment has been sent to the MTS and once the report is received, recommendations for repair will be implemented.

A new building, she said, will have to be discussed with the Catholic Education Board of Management.