St George's teachers walk out, TTUTA slams ministry for 'fanfare, PR gimmicks'

THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) says the move to return St George’s College to its Barataria compound was premature.

The association's president Martin Lum Kin is now accusing the Ministry of Education (MoE) of engaging in fanfare and public relations gimmicks.

Lum Kin made the comments as teachers at the school walked out on September 18, during their lunch hour, amid infrastructural issues at the school two weeks after it was reopened.

Heavy midday rain caused flash flooding at the school on September 17. In a video posted to social media, students were seen climbing onto chairs to avoid the water.

The school's hall and the principal's office were affected and a teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, attributed the flooding to poor drainage near the hall and issues with the roof in the hall and near the principal's office.

In response, the MoE, in a press release on September 18, said the flooding was not connected to the recent repairs to the school’s roof and ceiling.

It said attempts to connect the two are linked to an ongoing agenda to resist the school's return to Barataria.

The ministry said flooding in the Barataria area was caused by heavier-than-usual rainfall and since St George’s College experienced flooding as well, run-off water rose in the school's courtyard and corridors during the height of the rain, and subsequently ran off.

It said it noted the "curious and baseless attempt to conflate an isolated flooding incident...with the extensive work done on the school's roof, ceiling and electrical systems."

Speaking with the media outside St George’s on September 18, Lum Kin said the flooding was not an isolated incident.

“What has caused the issue to be greater this time is the works on the roof. Apparently, the guttering system is being channelled into the quadrangle area. And when you have that large volume of water in the quadrangle area and the drainage isn't proper, then you're going to get the backing up and the flooding.”

The ministry said the 70-year-old school will continue to receive the attention it requires and the infrastructural upgrades at the school are taking place on a phased basis.

Lum Kin said the upgrades are not being done fast enough.

The school was moved to Universty of TT's (UTT) Valsayn campus in 2022 and staff and students returned to the compound in September.

Lum Kin said teachers are frustrated with the pace of the infrastructural works since their return to the compound.

“They were promised that the school would be ready for full occupation. And although they are out in full numbers, they are experiencing some of the infrastructural issues that are inhibiting the proper learning/teaching process. We are out here and we are facing the high temperatures and that is affecting all classes, especially those that require air conditioning units to be put on during the day.

“There are other issues as well, too. They are being infested by mosquitoes at this time because of the infrastructure and the infrastructure not being tended to. There's an incident of a child being cut on the compound due to the works that took place and the materials that were left behind.”

He said the move back to the compound was premature and added it was not brought up to the standard for proper occupation.

“We can only speculate as to the reason why the ministry would have been so eager to move the school from the (UTT) campus. The campus also had its health and safety challenges as well and we acknowledge that but to bring the school from one unsafe compound to another unsafe compound, that in itself does not make any sense to us.”

He described the Education Minister’s visit to the compound, days before school reopened, as fanfare and a public relations gimmick.

“It was a matter of showing that the MoE is working and we are bringing St George's College back. However, we were quite aware, based on our reports that the school was not ready for full occupation and we would have seen it. The events would have shown that.”

He said teachers raised the issues with the MoE but have yet to receive an official response.

Lum Kin said the ministry’s claim that 80 fans donated to the school have gone missing is a distraction.

“There are two separate issues at this time. So to try to link the both, to us, is to try to do nothing to address the issue. It's a sleight of hand. And if there are issues of that nature, then the MoE should have been dealing with that outside of infrastructural issue.”

He said the media release has driven a wedge between stakeholders by passing the blame.

“It is saying to the public that the educators and administrators are the cause of what is taking place in St George's College. But the records have shown that St George's is one of the better performing schools in TT. So you're having disunity in the staff, you're having disunity throughout the compound, but yet still the teachers are performing their duties to a high extent? That is trying to put blame on other institutions except the MoE.

“We will not stand for that. We will not have our members being put in the firing line because the MoE isn’t dealing with certain situations.”

He dismissed the ministry’s claim of an “ongoing agenda to resist the return of the school to Barataria.”

“Our educators have been quite willing to come back, but all they are asking for, which is something that they have to rightfully have, is a safe and secure environment to perform their duties. We're talking not only in the classrooms, but about the labs as well and other parts of the compound. That's all they are asking for. Give them the right to have a safe and secure environment so that they can perform the duties that they require to do on a daily basis.”

Lum Kin also denied the ministry’s claim that approaches by various stakeholder bodies to assist the school with infrastructural improvement have met with resistance.

“If schools are funded adequately, then there will be not the issue of having external (assistance) or stakeholders having to intervene. The MoE has a duty to perform, and in not performing that duty, our administrators now have to go out and seek assistance. To say that our principal and the administration at this time has been refusing (assistance) is a red herring and it is a distraction.”

Lum Kin said TTUTA will continue to monitor the situation before determining its next steps.

"We will continue to liaise with the Ministry of Education but we will also liaise with the staff in terms of what we will do next."

Newsday tried to call the school's Parent Teacher Students Association president Dionne Cross for a comment but she did not answer.