Parents, staff concerned about state of St George’s College

Senior Multimedia Reporter

peter.christopher@guardian.co.tt

Just one day before the opening of schools, parents and staff of St George’s College are concerned about the school’s pending return to Barataria.

On Friday, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly officially reopened the school in Barataria. The reopening took place two months short of the two years since the school had to be relocated to the UTT Valsayn campus after a portion of the roof at the Barataria site collapsed in October 2022.

“We had serious difficulties with the roofing, the electrical, and the ceiling, and I remember walking down that particular corridor and it was almost coming down. And then I remember the day when it was reported at the ministry that the school could no longer function at Barataria,” Gadsby-Dolly said.

“And these are always very saddening words when we hear them at the Ministry of Education because it means we have to take an entire school and relocate to a school like St George’s College, which is synonymous with Barataria; that was a very disturbing time for us.”

She hailed the MTS staff and contractors for the work they were able to do with the $10 million allocated for the repairs. “I’m happy to see us making this level of progress. I stand here, and I really am very, very pleased with what has been done. Ten million is not a lot, I know. So MTS and the contractors, thank you for all of the extras that you would have put in to make sure that we can be at this point,” said the minister.

However, several present at the opening expressed their concern about the state of the school just a couple of days before classes are set to resume.

Guardian Media was told while the staff members were advised to report to Barataria on Friday, access to the staff room was initially barred due to missing furniture and the overall state of disrepair at the location.

Similar concerns were raised about classrooms where there was rusted or absent furniture.

Barataria/San Juan MP Saddam Hosein and St George’s PTSA president Dianne Cross and treasurer Cecily Maynard openly questioned the minister about the state of the school’s classrooms.

Video of the exchange was shared on the MP’s social media page, with Hosein stating on the post, “Some of the noticeable concerns raised were that there was debris stored on the corridors, rat droppings in the classroom, and unusable, broken furniture. The current condition of the school is deplorable, and it is perplexing that there was a reopening ceremony for the school to be reopened.”

Hosein also reiterated in the post a concern he shared with the minister that several parents had not received word that the school would be returning to Barataria.

Minister Gadsby-Dolly said work would be done over the weekend to address most concerns raised. During her address at the opening, she admitted more work had to be done at the school.

“As I walk around, I see that we have had a lot of work done. Of course, there’s work still to do, and that is the situation of every school,” said the Education Minister.

“The work will continue at Saint George’s, the school is 71 years old, so, therefore, there’s a lot to be done and continuous maintenance that has to be done on this school.”

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