Denominational school board ready for school reopening

DENOMINATIONAL school board heads say schools will be open come September even as there is no word yet from the Ministry of Education (MoE) on schools' readiness for the new academic year.

Presbyterian Primary School Board head Vick Ramlal said his board was being kept in the dark. He estimated that of the board's 72 schools, 36 (half) needed repairs while just over ten required major work. Those include work to remedy electrical issues, plumbing issues and even land slippage.

"We have schools that were damaged by recent earthquake and weather conditions and we have heard, as of today, absolutely nothing about repairs."

As a result, he said they have been relying on assistance from corporate bodies, parents and other stakeholders to ensure the schools were ready for the new year.

Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Secretary General Vijay Maharaj said of its 43 primary and five secondary schools, only a few needed major repairs requiring the MoE's assistance. However, he said he had not received an itinerary of any work to be undertaken by the State.

He said from what he gathered, there might be financial challenges hindering the programme. Despite that, he said, the SDMS is pushing forward, doing what it can.

"What we do have, we do it in-house but what we have done...we have a lot of craftsmen who are parents and they come and they help us on weekends. We buy the materials, they do the work...we're able to handle ourselves quite appropriately with that.

"We are opening as per normal without any problems."

When contacted, Catholic School Board head Sharon Mangroo wanted to reserve comments on its preparedness for the next school term until next week, as the board waited for word on the MoE's programme while it did the minor repairs it could afford.

TT Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) head Martin Lum Kin told Newsday the union had also been unable to get an update from the MoE on the annual school repair programme, which usually takes place in July and August, at the end of the academic year.

Lum Kin said TTUTA was told by ministry officials in a recent meeting that Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly would provide an update soon.

Newsday has been unable to get an update from Gadsby-Dolly on the repair programme's progress since first reaching out to her on August 6 and again on Thursday.

But apart from repairs to school infrastructure, Lum Kin said schools were in dire need of furniture upgrades.

"The schools are languishing due to a lack of proper furniture. The last time schools would have gotten furniture, would have been over ten years ago and schools have resorted to repairing existing desks and chairs.

"I know of a particular secondary school who has to get chairs welded, primary schools where cleaners and the principals and parents and others would have to come in and nail down the benches or desk and chairs. But after a while, you would appreciate, you could only do so much repairs to these desks and chairs."

Lum Kin said there were also termite infestations in furniture in rural schools. He said the ministry asked for a list annually of furniture that needed repairs but had not acted on the requests of late.

"Nothing ever came out of those representations of principals sending lists to the Ministry of Education."

Ramlal and Maharaj also shared a similar concern.

Maharaj and Ramlal also expressed concern over teacher vacancies at their schools.

Newsday was unable to reach the head of the Anjuman Sunnat ul Jamaat Association (ASJA) school board.