Last-minute push to open St George's

ST GEORGE'S College will only accommodate form-one and form-two students on September 2, the first day of school, sources within the school told Newsday on September 1.

A letter obtained by Newsday from Sanjeveen Persad, school supervisor of the St George East education district, shared with parents over the weekend said, “Kindly note, only students of forms two and one are to report to school on September 2, 2024, to facilitate the transitional arrangements and further relocation activities.

“All forms are to attend school on September 4, 2024.”

On August 30, the Ministry of Education officially reopened the school after 22 months of closure for the repair of the school’s roof, ceilings and electrical systems. However, when parents and members of the St George's parent-teacher-student Association (PTSA) visited the school on the day, they raised several issues.

Newsday also visited the school on August 30, and saw the school in major disrepair.

The hallways were all covered in dust. Water-soaked chairs were stacked in mountainous piles at the side of the school, with others piled in classrooms.

On the left side of the auditorium where the reopening ceremony was held, a massive casement window was unhinged and laid on 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.

San Juan/Barataria MP Saddam Hosein, during a UNC media briefing at the UNC’s headquarters in Chaguanas on September 1 shared videos of the school taken during the school’s re-opening on August 30. The footage depicted desks covered in dust and rat faeces, rusted desks and tables in the hallways and classrooms with cracked and chipped tiles.

Hosein said, “When I raised this issue with the Minister of Education on October 22 (last year) during the budget standing finance committee, she told the nation the works there would amount to $10 million.

“That entire project raises so many questions, because when you see the very small areas in which the roof and the ceilings were replaced, it begs, where the $10 million gone?”

Hosein also referred to information being circulated that only some students would be able to attend school on September 2.

“But they are having a big opening ceremony.

“I could not, in good conscience, engage in that pappyshow. I raised immediately with the minister on that day that students cannot come to the school in that condition. The minister said they will take two days, Saturday and Sunday (August 31 and September 1) to get the school ready, and yet, the school is still not ready for full occupation on Monday (September 2).”

A video shared on social media on August 31, seemed to take Newsday to task for a report published that day which said the school was not ready for occupation. The video was captioned, “The Ministry of Education opens two brand new schools in Princes Town and Marabella but this is your headline. Ok Newsday, we see you.”

The video depicted MTS workers feverishly polishing and scrubbing floors and bringing in furniture. Classes were soaked with water having just been power washed.

In the video, the power washer could still be heard spraying while the videographer proudly pointed out the blocks that were “completed.”

“This is the first load to come down, we have two more trucks to come down with furniture,” the videographer said.

“The guys are going to start to power wash the yard. A guy is doing the gym. We just finished cleaning the art room so it will be repacked as soon as it dries. Technical services should be here in an hour to start the repairs on the air condition. All the classes (in the form one block) have already been done.”

On September 1, PTSA president Dionne Cross confirmed that the school’s floors had been power washed and polished on August 31.

When Newsday visited the school on that day, MTS officials who did not want to be named described the work being done as “routine” work that was done for all schools prior to the opening of the term.

St George’s College, established 71 years ago, was the first co-ed school in TT. It was the first school to have a lift and wheelchair access for disabled people. In 2011 it was recognised as one of the country’s top-performing schools with 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 during heavy rain 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.

Students were relocated to UTT in Valsayn on October 28 while assessments and repairs were being done at the school.

Newsday posed questions to the Education Minister on the school and its readiness to accommodate students in the new term, as well as what would happen to the students of forms three to six via WhatsApp. Newsday received no response from the minister by the time of publication.