Parents: St George's not ready after $10m spent to fix roof

AFTER 22 months of refurbishment, costing the state $10 million,St George’s College, Barataria, was reopened by the Ministry of Education on August 30.

But members of the school's parent, teachers and students association (PTSA) who viewed the school,expressed concern after it was seen to be in disrepair during a tour at the reopening ceremony.

The floors and hallways were all covered in dust. Water-soaked chairs were stacked in mountainous piles at the side of the building and in some classrooms. Labs and classes were either without chairs, exposed chipped and cracked tiles, or were filled with rusty desks.

The ceiling, one of the major issues that led to the school’s closure, was repaired for the most part, but in the auditorium where the ceremony was held, at least one ceiling tile was out of place.

On the left side of the auditorium one massive casement window was unhinged and placed against a nearby wall, leaving a huge gap in the auditorium.

One person from the National Maintenance, Training and Security Company (MTS), contracted to do the repair work, was seen tucking loose wires into a hole in a wall near the hallway next to the auditorium.

PTSA president Dionne Cross, along with chairman of the local school board, St George’s College and treasurer of PTSA Cecily Maynard-James gave very low marks for the condition of the school at the opening.

“On a scale of one-ten, ten being highly satisfied, I would give it a one,” Cross said.

“I give it a negative one,” Maynard-James added. “You are talking about drains not cleaned, doors not repaired, water-soaked tables. Those are tables from back in 2022. From the time we left the school till now, those tables were still there in the hallway. Would you send your child to a school like that?

“Don’t take it the wrong way, we are not complaining.

"We are grateful that they fixed the ceiling, but what we are saying is we would like to have the school completed so children can come on the first day of school and see that this will be their new home. This is where they will be spending the majority of the day.”

They also complained of spotting classes with desks covered in rat faeces.

Cross complained that the school, on the whole, should have been better taken care of because of its rich history.

“I have no issue with the students coming back here. I am a former Georgian, so this is home. But this mess is not home.

“St Georges' is the first-ever co-ed school in this country. This is the first school that ever took in students with disabilities.

"It was the first school to have a lift (and wheelchair access). We had one child with one leg, who used crutches, and two other children who used wheelchairs.

"This school should have been better taken care of.”

Parents also complained that they were not officially informed of the reopening and expressed disappointment in the administration’s lack of communication.

“This is not something that has happened overnight,” said one parent who did not wish to be named, on WhatsApp.

“Preparations have to be put in place for parents and students to resume the attendance in the time allotted for the reopening of schools. This is not just a case of moving from next door.

“It is the responsibility of the school to ensure this information is given to the parents and students. We should not have to guess how it will play out and without considerable notification.”

St George's was founded in Barataria in 1953, 71 years ago, and named after the county. It was the second government secondary school to be founded in TT.

The school started with 100 students and a few teachers but expanded to accommodate the rapid influx of students, and eventually built science laboratories, a gym, art room, library and expanded classrooms. The school was, in 2011, considered one of the top-performing schools in the country, achieving a 90 per cent pass rate in all disciplines.

On October 9, 2022 the school’s PTSA announced the school would be physically closed from October 10 and teaching would be done online.

The closure came because of severe damage to the school’s ceiling which was soaked in heavy rains on October 6. According to reports a part of the ceiling fell in the hallway at the front of the staff room, after the rain.

The students were relocated to UTT in Valsayn on October 28, while assessments and repairs were being done to the school.

Minister satisfied with repairs

During her speech at the opening ceremony Minister of Education the $10 million was spent to repair the ceiling, roofing and electrical, in order for the school to function.

Contrary to the concerns, the minister expressed satisfaction with the work that was done so far, and thanked contractors and MTS for their efforts.

“I visited this school a year ago or so, and from the start of the school to the end we had serious difficulties with the roofing, electrical and the ceiling.

"I remember walking down that hallway and the ceiling was almost coming down. Then I remember the day when it was reported at the ministry that the school could no longer function at Barataria. These are always saddening words at the Ministry of Education because it means we have to take an entire school and relocate.

“As I walk around I see that we had a lot of work done. Of course there work still to do and that is the situation of every school, and so, I want to assure that just as we got the work with the ceiling and the repainting and so on done, the work will continue.”

Organisers had planned a ribbon-cutting at the school’s entrance after the official part of the opening ceremony, but it was cancelled at the last minute.

After the official opening, the minister was approached by the PTSA and MP for San Juan/Barataria Saddam Hosein, who raised concerns over the condition of the school. She assured that the school would be cleaned and in a proper condition for the students to return on Monday.

Hosein told reporters in a subsequent interview that he was waiting to see the final result on Monday, noting that, as of Friday, the school was incomplete.

“We were all invited to an opening ceremony at St George's expecting that when we get there we would have seen a school that is fit for occupation, but we would have all seen first-hand the condition of the St George's school where it was in a deplorable, unsanitary state,” he said.

“What we saw today could never be a building that is fit to have students teachers and other staff. The minister said in her speech that $10 million was spent on this project.

"We saw a fresh coat of paint, but we have seen garbage right around the building.”

He put the responsibility of the school’s condition squarely on the shoulders of the minister, saying that as the client, the ministry should have done a proper walkthrough before announcing a reopening.

“What we saw today was an incomplete job. That school is not ready as of today for reopening on Monday.

"We now have to demand answers with respect to the money that was spent on this project. You can’t tell me that $10 million was spent on a small portion of the ceiling, the roof and some electrical work.

“We now question the accountability for the expenditure of that particular project because we are seeing first hand that the country did not get value for money in that project,” Hosein said.

Two new schools open in south Trinidad

Speaking earlier as she opened two brand-new schools in South Trinidad, Gadsby-Dolly told reporters there were no schools, to her knowledge, that would not be able to reopen come Monday morning.

First in the line-up to be commissioned by the minister on August 30 was the Sisters Road Anglican Primary School, New Grant, which was completed with a price tag of just over $6 million and will house some 150 students.

Anglican Education Board of Management chairman Peter Thomas said the wooden school, built in 1956, was deemed unsafe around two years ago and classes there were abandoned.

He said Standard Four and Five students were accommodated at the Torrib Trace Presbyterian School and the rest taught virtually.

"Today we have a spanking-new building and I want to say thank you very much to the honourable minister and all the personnel in the Ministry of Education for gifting us this building."

Like Thomas, Gadsby-Dolly thanked Torrib Trace Presbyterian Primary School for accommodating the students.

"Our children are important to us and everything that we have to do to ensure that their opportunity for education is not compromised, we will do. I want to assure this nation that the staff of the Ministry of Education...we take our job seriously, and though we do have challenges, and though we do have to work through those challenges, it is always in the best interest of our young people."

While he did not speak at the event, Padarath told reporters he was grateful for the school, but believes Gadsby-Dolly's commissioning tour at three schools on Friday was nothing more than an election ploy.

"Essentially we just witnessed an exercise in PR gimmickry from the honourable minister two days ahead of school opening and we got no reassurance from the minister that all systems are in place."

The second school commissioned on Friday was the Holy Cross Anglican Primary School, Marabella, which was rebuilt after being deemed structurally unsound in 2012. The new school was built for $25 million and will be able to accommodate 250 children.

Anglican bishop Claude Berkley said the students were relocated to the St Paul's Boys' Anglican Primary School, San Fernando and others, a move which had its own challenges.

"During the first year at the (St Paul's Boys') pan theatre, staff and students had to suffer the sweltering heat of the building with poor air quality and inadequate ventilation. The building was eventually outfitted with air conditioning after teachers threatened to walk off the job in September 2015 in protest of the inhumane working conditions."

He said the air conditioning was often inadequate during the hot dry-season days and the noise was a concern in the building designed to amplify sounds.

He said the additional commute led to a decline in student attendance, especially after the shuttle service was discontinued last year.

"There was a decline in enrolment during the ten years in San Fernando...as parents chose to send their children to other schools rather than to deal with the uncertainty and the hassle that's surrounding the Marabella Anglican Schools."

Now that classes will return to a new structure from Monday, Berkley called on stakeholders to help rebuild the school's ethos and culture which may have been lost in the last decade.

He said the school's reconstruction in 2014 was initially carded to take only ten months.

Gadsby-Dolly thanked Berkley and stakeholders for their patience.

(With reporting by Rishard Khan)