[UPDATED] Education Minister: Not enough money to fix all schools

EDUCATION Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says her ministry has had to prioritise which school repairs it could attempt, as it simply does not have the money required to do all the necessary repairs to all schools.

Speaking on i95.5FM on September 3, she addressed concerns about incomplete repairs and the lack of readiness of several schools at the start of the school year on Monday.

Gadsby-Dolly said the majority of the ministry’s budget was used to pay salaries for teachers and ministry staff, leaving the ministry with just $150 million to spend on school repairs, which was insufficient.

Gadsby-Dolly said the cost of the repairs submitted by school principals throughout TT totaled almost $2 billion, while the ministry’s entire budget was $5 billion.

She explained that of the $5 billion, $3 billion was spent in salaries and 1.5 billion in running tertiary institutions, leaving just 500 million for all other costs, including scholarships, grants and repairs.

Gadsby-Dolly said many of the schools in TT were more than 50 years old, and some even more than a century old.

“Forty out of the 125 secondary schools in Trinidad are over 50 years old and in primary schools, the situation is even worse, with 251 out of 441 (older than 50) – so over 50 per cent of them. We have primary schools even reaching as old as 181 years old, with 13 schools between 121 and 130 years old.

"These are operational schools. So imagine the amount of work that is required on these schools. All of the electrical systems, their sewer systems, these things cost a lot and they break down a lot, because of the age of the schools we have in TT.”

She said that was the reason repairs were always ongoing.

“It is not that the ministry is sitting down and just watching schools and saying, ‘No, we aren't fixing these schools.’ We would love to fix all of these schools in the way they should be. But the fact is, school repair is an ongoing thing.

“The majority of school repairs go on while school is ongoing because that's the most number of months for the year. So contractors would work after school and during the weekends and so on to get the job done.”

Gadsby-Dolly said the ministry would have needed $190 million for its critical repair programme for the vacation period, but only had a $20 million budget to work with.

“I want to be very clear, and the public has to understand this, that the amount of money required for school repairs is simply not available. And that has been a situation for some time.”

She said three main issues could result in a school's not being able to open on time, and those were a priority when deciding which repairs to do.

“There are some things in a school which will stop it from operating. Sewer, electrical and plumbing are the three priority areas. So once a school has issues with these, serious issues to the point where it can shut down the school, we will prioritise.”

She explained, “There are schools that need critical work, but it falls outside of those three. So although the school will not run perfectly, the school can still operate.

“Because we don’t have the funds to do all the repairs in the country, we will do like a triage and repair the most important things.”

She said schools not being ready for the opening of the term was not a new issue.

“The fact is that every education minister has (been) and will be faced with this until and unless we get to a situation where we are able to maintain our schools and upgrade all of our schools in a certain way.”

She said she expected stories about the state of readiness at various schools to remain in the news.

“For the next couple days and the next week, we will see these kinds of headlines, because there are a lot of different schools that need work. That work has to be done, and that work is programmed for and awaiting funding to complete.”

Addressing the concerns of parents of children attending St George’s College, Barataria, Gadsby-Dolly said the school was clean and operational.

“When I visited on Monday, the students were in school. We have forms one and two out doing the orientation because they’ve never been to the school. And it's something the staff requested that they have that orientation with the forms one and two. The school is clean. I've visited the different rooms. The classrooms are packed out. And that school is not in any way a hazard. I've not seen anything that is hazardous.”

“So all of the issues that would have stopped operation at St George's College, those have been addressed…We will never put the students into any position where their health or their safety is compromised.”

Her comments were supported by the school’s parent-teachers and students association representative, Dionne Cross.

She told Newsday via WhatsApp, “In terms of cleanliness and classrooms being equipped with furniture, yes, the school is ready.”

She could not confirm whether teachers had completed organising the staffroom, their classes and the respective elective rooms.

Calls and WhatsApp messages to TTUTA president Martin Lum Kin went unanswered.
Gadsby-Dolly also explained the situation at Mt Hope Secondary School.
She said plans to rebuild the school had been halted but repair work would begin soon on the current buildings.

“We have done a lot of work on that school and it will continue to be needed, because that is an old school. The (new) building (was constructed), but it was vandalised, so the cost to bring that school to completion, based on the latest estimate we got this year, is over $200 million.

"At this time the government has decided we are not going to invest that money there right now. We have to deal with the school the students are presently (sic) in and we have to keep fixing.”
She said government had been doing what it must to ensure the current location was safe for students.

“As recently as early this year or late last year we had to fix the railings in that school and ensure they were in proper shape for the students. So it is not as though the school has not been getting work – the school continuously gets work. But it needs some works on the electrical and so on, and that is a part of what is scheduled for the school.”

National Parent Teachers Association (NPTA) president Walter Stewart told Newsday there were still unanswered questions about the state of multiple schools, including Mt Hope Secondary.

“NPTA is fully aware of the conditions at Mt Hope Secondary School which resulted in parents mounting a demonstration outside the school on September 2, to highlight their plight.

“The state of this school is cause for safety and health considerations, with inadequate toilet facilities, leaking washrooms, faulty electrical conditions, flooding, air conditions malfunctioning and lack of proper garbage disposals.”

He also pointed out issues at schools in south Trinidad

“Cedros Secondary is in need of much-needed roof repairs and (there are) electrical concerns at Point Fortin East Secondary and Vessigny Secondary.”

He said La Veronica RC Primary School in Rio Claro was closed on Monday owing to electrical problems, but he was not aware of the duration of the closure.

Stewart added the NPTA was concerned that the closure could “negatively impact the progress of learning at that school.”

This story has been updated to include additional details. See the original story below, published with the headline, "Education Minister: Not enough money to fix all schools."

The Education Minister says her ministry has prioritised school repairs as it simply does not have the money required to do all the necessary repairs to all schools in TT.

She was speaking on i95.5fm on September 3, as she addressed concerns about incomplete repairs and the lack of readiness of several schools at the start of the school year on Monday.

Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the majority of the ministry’s budget is used to pay salaries for teachers and ministry staff, leaving the ministry with just $150 million to spend on school repairs, which is insufficient.

Gadsby-Dolly said as many of the schools in Trinidad and Tobago are more than 50 years old, and some even more than a century old, school repairs are always ongoing.

She said three main issues can result in a school not being able to open on time, and these are a priority when deciding which repairs to undertake.

“There are some things in a school which will stop it from operating. Sewer, electrical and plumbing are the three priority areas. So once a school has issues with these, serious issues to the point where it can shut down the school, we will prioritise.”

She explained, “Because we don’t have the funds to do all the repairs in the country, we will do like a triage and repair the most important things.”