Pt Fortin East Sec protests poor conditions

Robertha St Hillaire, PTA president at the Point Fortin East Secondary School, is demanding the Ministry of Education fix the school now.

The PTA and pupils protested on Tuesday and she said they will take the protest to Port of Spain if the ministry fails to address parents' immediate concerns.

She said, “There is a list of works to be done but nothing is being done. We want to know why."

St Hillaire said the school is almost 60 years old and is in desperate need of an infrastructural upgrade. Some of the issues identified by the PTA are damaged and missing ceiling tiles in classrooms; no extractor fans for fumes and smoke generated by the stoves in the home economics classrooms; and no extractor fans for the gas systems in the science labs.

On Monday a small fire broke out in the administrative block because of faulty electrical work, said Hillaire.

"This is a serious matter and could have been worse, especially if it occurred when no one was in office."

On Tuesday morning, parents took to the street to protest deplorable school conditions which they said the ministry is aware of. The protest began about 7 am and St Hillaire said even the students gave up their class time because they are fed up of the situation they face daily.

“We did not ask the students to come outside, but they did. They too are fed up of the conditions that they have to be in, which is not conducive to their learning."

St Hillaire said an invitation was sent last Wednesday to the ministry to visit the school, but instead, she said, "We got an ear because the matter is now being highlighted in the media."