St John’s AC Primary School holds classes in church

OWING to ongoing repairs at St John’s Anglican Primary School, San Fernando, classes have been temporarily relocated to a church.

Newsday learned that leading up to the reopening of the school term, parents were told repairs were still ongoing, and the school was deemed unfit for use. About 135 students are affected.

Parents say the 100-year-old school building on Cipero Road in St John’s Village has no roof.

When term opened on January 6, the students were moved to St Clement Anglican Church's parish hall on Manahambre Road, near St Clements Junction.

One parent, who has three children attending the school, said many parents have been lobbying the Ministry of Education and the Anglican Board to arrange for classes to be held at another site in the area.

The mother, Krystal Patrick, said the proposed nearby institutions included a mosque, a community centre and two other churches.

“There are insufficient toilets and the space is too small at the church hall. Classes are packed, with barely enough walking space,” Patrick said.

“My problem is transport. It costs me $300 per week to send my kids to school. I cannot afford this, and it looks like the situation will last longer than the month they promised.

"If the classes were closer, or if the ministry had provided transportation, things would have been much better,” she added.

Other parents also expressed concern about the financial burden associated with the move.

In addition to the roof of the school, the floor needs repairs before work on the roof can continue.

Another parent noted that the work seemed to have slowed down, and mentioned a termite issue.

She added, “The work on the roof is supposed to take one month, and parents were told they would only be at the relocation site for one month, but now it’s certain that it will take much longer. The work has come to a standstill because of the floor issues.”

In October 2024, parents protested to highlight their concerns, including the faulty roof and other deplorable conditions.

The Education Ministry later awarded a contract, and work began in November, continuing through the Christmas vacation.

A comment from the Education Minister for an update was not forthcoming by the afternoon of January 8.

On January 6, TT Unified Teachers Association president Martin Lum Kin noted that the majority of schools nationwide had reopened. He also mentioned that the church hall was unsuitable for classes.