The state of schools

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly made a victory tour, of sorts, on August 30, commissioning three schools that will reopen after being closed for years.

Two entirely new schools were rebuilt from the ground up. Sister’s Road Anglican Primary School in New Grant and Holy Cross Anglican Primary School in Marabella were completed for $6 million and $25 million, respectively.

The new buildings and repair works at these schools are a welcome opportunity to return students to their home schools, after terms spent at other schools and spaces.

Unfortunately, the launch at St George’s College in Barataria drew some concern from parents at the launch as they viewed a school still being prepared for its student population.

Major works at St George’s focused on roof repairs that led to it being shut down in October 2022 after heavy rains collapsed a part of the ceiling, making the building unviable.

Ten million was spent to repair the ceiling, roof, and electrical systems.

St George’s wasn’t made presentable for an opening ceremony even two years after its forced closure, but ensuring that students will be properly accommodated should be the ultimate goal.

While the Education Minister should celebrate her wins, other schools will reopen with challenges, today. Palmiste Government Primary and others will continue to operate uncomfortably at temporary locations.

By mid-August, the ministry had yet to notify TTUTA of the status of schools that still required repairs and furniture upgrades.

Vick Ramlal, head of the Presbyterian Primary School Board had received no notification about repairs planned for 36 of the board’s 72 schools, ten of which required major repairs.

The ministry’s Schedule of Planned Procurement Activities for 2023-2024 lists works for 76 schools nationwide, five of which required works to run for three weeks, the rest for one to two weeks.

Of the three schools in the Education Minister’s commissioning tour last week, only St George’s appears on that procurement list, and those works were scheduled for its temporary location at UTT in Valsayn.

The Education Ministry’s website has no list of schools undergoing major repairs or rebuilding that impede their ability to house students.

On Tuesday, TTUTA president Martin Lum Kin suggested that Mt Hope Secondary, Aranguez North Secondary, and Preysal Government Primary be added to the ministry’s Emergency Repair Programme list.

There remain considerable gaps between the experienced reality in the nation’s schools and the ministry’s priority in addressing these critical problems.

The Education Minister’s tour would have been more impressive if it mentioned whether schools that needed major repairs would return to service. That’s still to come.

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