Progress on Mt Hope, Sando Central Secondary issues after PTA pressure

KRISTEN-LE CHELLE WINCHESTER

AFTER many pleas to the Ministry of Education for better conditions, remedial work at the Mt Hope Secondary School has officially begun.

At the start of the new academic year on September 2, a group of parents protested in front of the school to voice their concerns about the dilapidated conditions. They cited the woodlice infestation of the school’s ceiling and classroom furniture, exposed electrical wires and drainage issues.

Three weeks later, on September 21, the teachers issued a refusal-to-work mandate after a staff member suffered an electrical shock while turning on a light.

Another teacher was bitten by an insect, which highlighted the school’s need for sanitisation.

The ongoing problems prompted action from the Education Ministry, which is now stepping in to address the issues raised by concerned parents and teachers.

Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president Marilyn Marquis said the infrastructural and electrical works have been ongoing and the washroom facilities were replaced, resulting in the refusal-to-work being lifted and the student population returning to school on October 10.

She made the comments in a phone interview with Newsday on October 14.

“All the washrooms were replaced and the new stalls were painted. Block B, which we were having a problem with, was completed last week. All the work that was a health hazard, basically where kids had to be, was completed. In block B, the ceiling and the roofing got changed.”

Marquis added the insect infestation was no longer an issue.

“We have not seen any since we got MTS (National Maintenance Training and Security Company) maintenance cleaning. They did a fantastic job. If we had MTS maintenance all the time, probably some of these problems we were having at the school would not take place.”

Portable washrooms for Sando Central Secondary

Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) representative John Joseph said the San Fernando Central Secondary School received portable toilets after the buildings which housed female washrooms were deemed unsafe.

In a letter to parents on September 23, the school’s principal said infrastructure issues affected blocks E and F. The letter cited cracks forming in block E, where the female washrooms are located, which made the area unsafe for occupation. This resulted in classes held on a rotational schedule because of the limited washroom facilities.

Joseph said the rotational schedule had been discontinued.

“We received the portable toilets on the weekend before the students came back out...

“It is back to the regular schedule for all the students. There are no measures for online (classes) to ensure the curriculum is covered.”

However, Joseph voiced concerns about when the cracked buildings would be addressed.

“I am hearing they (Education Ministry) are to demolish (the buildings) to do the work during the holiday time. We still need to find out if this is actually the case, when the demolishing is going to happen and when they are going to begin.

“Our administration has been reaching out to the ministry concerning this.”

Though there has been some progress in temporarily addressing the school’s facilities, TTUTA president Martin Lum Kin remained unsatisfied with other concerns.

“In terms of the classrooms that were affected by the infrastructural issues, the ministry still has not been able to clearly address it.

“There are classes like the visual and performing arts and those classes supporting physical education which have not been addressed comprehensively.”

Lum Kin called on the ministry to address school infrastructural issues for fiscal 2025.

“We were going to say generally that we are hopeful that the Ministry of Education will be addressing a number of these schools after the budget has passed and they will release funds.

“We also look forward to the ministry seeking the external funding to adjust the infrastructural issues in many of our schools throughout Trinidad and Tobago as well.”

Newsday messaged Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly via WhatsApp at 1.48 pm for comments on when the work at Mt Hope Secondary and San Fernando Central Secondary School will be completed but she had not responded by press time. A follow-up message at 1.21 pm to the minister was sent again on October 15 also went unanswered.