[UPDATED] TTUTA: St George's unsafe for staff, students

THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) remains very unsatisfied with conditions at St George’s College, Tenth Street, Barataria, even as the school reopened its doors on September 2 for students in forms one and two.

On August 30, the Ministry of Education officially reopened the school after 22 months of closure for repairs to its roof, ceilings and electrical systems.

During her speech at the opening ceremony on August 30, Minister of Education Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said $10 million was spent to repair the ceiling, roofing and electrical for the school to function.

But when parents and members of the school’s parent/teacher association visited the school that day, they raised several issues.

Speaking with the media outside of the school on September 2 – the first day of the new school term – TTUTA’s first vice president Adesh Dwarika said both he and TTUTA’s Industrial Relations officer Kevyn Kerr walked through the school.

He said they noticed a number of issues that affect the safety of staff and students.

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.”

Dwarika said, “Based on the walk-through that myself and Kerr did, we don’t see how the readiness of the compound would be done in two days’ time for the delivery of the curriculum.”

The hazards Dwarika and Kerr identified include exposed electrical panels, electrical kiosks overgrown with bushes, in some classes electrical panels are exposed, the technical vocational block being without electricity, labs not prepared to facilitate the teaching of students (rooms cleaned but equipment in boxes), burglar proofing work in lab done poorly (doors cannot close and cannot secure equipment safely), the administration office is not ready (not clean, leaks from the air condition unit, toilet area flooded), and staff room being without seats for teachers (everything still in boxes).

Dwarika also complained of derelict furniture throughout the building.

“That is a health and safety hazard as well.

“There are a couple buildings at the back where furniture is being stored and there has not been cleaned. That is a catchment area area for water, therefore we have mosquitoes in those particular areas.”

Dwarika also claims there was a cable stolen from the school’s technical vocational block two years ago.

“That has never been addressed so for that entire block, there is no electricity.

“We are not too sure how the curriculum delivery would take place without electricity, as well as air conditioning in that particular building.”

Dwarika said he would have rather a transitional process from the old campus (UTT in Valsayn) to the location in Barataria.

He also described the school’s PA system and Wi-Fi as almost non-existent. “After the walk-through TTUTA would have done this morning, it is almost difficult to have curriculum delivery for the entire forms one to six on Wednesday (September 4) as is the proposal by the Ministry of Education.”

“We are hoping that the Ministry of Education will act with due diligence to ensure that if they are asking teachers and students to come on the compound that they...ensure the safety of the members... of primary importance rather than just have an opening of the school.”

Newsday tried to contact Gadsby-Dolly on September 2 via WhatsApp.

Newsday listed some of TTUTA’s concerns and asked if the school was ready why were only form one and two students accommodated. Additionally, we asked if all the listed complaints would be fixed in time to facilitate forms three-six on September 4.

Up to publication time, there was no response from the Minister.

Mt Hope face similar issues but reopened

While St George’s has numerous issues, Mt Hope Secondary also faces similar problems.

On September 2, the school was reopened, however, the parent-teacher association of the school, supported by TTUTA’s president, Martin Lum Kin, held a protest to highlight the conditions.

Lum Kin said the issues at Mt Hope Secondary present “imminent danger and risk to the health and safety of students and staff.”

He listed some of the issues: risk of electric shock and electrocution in the quadrangle area as there is a leak in the roof with exposed wiring (students and staff use are to access other parts of the school compound); similar risks in prefab areas as there are holes in the roof (which leaks and are near electrical fixtures); and the Industrial Arts block is currently inaccessible.

Lum Kin said, “A prohibition notice was recently served by the OSH Agency due to similar concerns with exposed wires, leaks near the light fixtures.”

He said the school also has a “severe” termite infestation with 12 classrooms being inaccessible.

Lum Kin also highlighted limited classroom space, insufficient toilets for both staff and students, spalling concrete which can fall and injure people in certain areas of the school, hot and poorly ventilated classrooms, a shaky stairway at block B, poor sanitary conditions in classrooms and slip and fall hazards due to leaking roofs throughout the compound.

He said five out of 11 female staff toilets are functional for 70 total women, and one of the two male staff toilets is functional for 15 males.

He added there were seven out of 17 female students’ toilets were functional to serve 287 girls, while three out of eight male students’ toilets were functional for 280 boys.

“There are also leaks on the floor, leading to a fall hazard. “There are no doors in some of the stalls leading to a lack of privacy in male and female student bathrooms.” Lum Kin said the school’s unsanitary conditions present severe health issues for both students and staff.

“The presence of fleas and mosquito larvae (risk of dengue) inadequate maintenance to prevent the breeding of insects and vermin such as rats.

“All water tanks need to be cleaned and sanitised. The water tanks have severe leaks and need to be replaced, as it is insufficient to support the school, should the area be without water.”

Lum Kin said the parents at Mt Hope Secondary are frustrated that their pleas about the unsafe conditions are going unanswered.

“We are appealing to the relevant authorities, the Ministry of Education, to ensure that the school gets the relevant repairs.”

Denominational Schools face minor issues

Newsday contacted representatives from the Catholic, ASJA and Anglican boards on September 2, who reported a smooth reopening of its schools.

Vickram Ramlal, chairman of the Presbyterian Primary School Board of Education, said all 72 of the primary schools reopened.

“Some of the schools still have repairs ongoing, such as Guiaco Presbyterian and Cunaripo Presbyterian.

“We are also waiting on the Ministry to start repairs at Felicity Presbyterian, Woodbrook Presbyterian, Bien Venue Presbyterian and Harmony Hall Presbyterian.”

Ramlal said the repairs in those schools need to be done, as it can potentially affect “the continued function of the school.”

Newsday asked when repairs would be finished, he said, “We were told Guiaco will finish on September 2, Cunaripo on September 2 or 3 and the other four, we hope works can be done on the afternoons and on weekends.”

He said many primary schools are complaining of a shortage of furniture or dilapidated furniture.

Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) secretary general Vijay Maharaj said all secondary and preschools reopened while 42 of the 43 primary schools opened.

“In one of our schools in South, rat droppings were detected.

“The school was closed and sanitation exercises are ongoing.”

Statistics from the Ministry of Education reported a 79.6 per cent student turnout at the primary school level and 76 per cent for secondary schools.

As for the teachers, 95.6 per cent turned out for primary school and 89.6 per cent for secondary schools.

With reporting by Kris-Ann Durity

This story has been updated to include additional details. See original post below.

THE TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) remains very unsatisfied with conditions at St George's College, Tenth Street, San Juan, even as the school reopened its doors on September 2 for forms one and two students.

On August 30, the Ministry of Education officially reopened the school after 22 months of closure for repairs to its roof, ceilings and electrical systems.

But when parents and members of the school's parent/teacher association visited the school on that day, they raised several issues.

Speaking with the media outside the school on September 2 – the first day of the new term – TTUTA first vice president Adesh Dwarika said he and TTUTA's industrial relations officer Kevyn Kerr had walked through the school.

He said they noticed a number of issues that affected the safety of both staff and students.

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.”

Dwarika said, "Based on the walk-through that myself and Kerr did, we don't see how the readiness of the compound would be done in two days' time for the delivery of the curriculum."

The "hazards" Dwarika and Kerr identified include exposed electrical panels; electrical kiosks overgrown with bushes; in some classes electrical panels are exposed; the technical vocational block has no electricity; labs are not prepared to facilitate  teaching; burglarproofing work done poorly (doors cannot close)' the administration office is not ready (not clean, leaks from the air condition unit); and the staff room has noseats for teachers.

Dwarika said he would have preferred a transitional process from the temporary campus (at UTT in Valsayn) to Barataria.