THE Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) in Tobago is ready to shut down schools if necessary in the event health and safety standards are not adhered to, says TTUTA Tobago officer Bradon Roberts.
Roberts spoke with the Express yesterday ahead of the reopening of the new school term today.
“Health and safety concerns are paramount for us and any breaches to that we’re going to guide our teachers accordingly. So there are ‘refusing to work’ procedures,” he added. Roberts said a number of schools have a shortage of furniture, termites and other health and safety concerns . Visits will be made today to schools, he added. “The termite infestation has been a frequent thing in majority of our primary schools. I would mention Belle Garden, Mt St George would have had their issue with the termite as well, we had St Andrews with termites , the majority of the primary schools had their termite issues, it’s not that it’s only one area of the island but majority of the primary schools have issues with termites, it’s something that the Health Division should be able to treat with periodically so that we don’t have the re-occurrence,” Roberts said.
Roberts said a list of issues affecting schools was previously submitted to the Division of Education. “So the listing submitted would have been submitted in categories so we had plumbing issues, lighting issues, roofing and ceiling issues, rodent infection issues, furniture shortage ,those main areas there would have been additional to it in that some schools have specific concerns that I would have raised. One of the main issues also sent in is the list of schools which was the majority that needed to be deep cleaned,” Roberts said.
Hackett: All schools
will be open today
Meanwhile, based on information from the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (E-IDCOT) Ltd, Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett told the Express yesterday from, all indications, no school would be closed today.
She said with a budget of $20 million, the Division of Education’s primary focus has been on addressing health and safety issues within Tobago’s schools to ensure that staff and teachers return to a secure and conducive learning environment. “A meeting was held with TTUTA on Tuesday, 27th August, to provide them with updates on the progress of the School Repair Programme. As Secretary, it was critical that I kept key stakeholders informed as the Division continue to navigate the challenges associated with maintaining aging school infrastructure,” Hackett said. The Education Secretary added that while demobilisation of contractors from some plants is still underway, E-IDCOT has reported that all 57 plants under the Division of Education, Research and Technology’s (DERTech) purview should be able to reopen today with continued monitoring and assessment of health and safety concerns as the week progresses.
“In recognition of E-IDCOT’s competence and effectiveness, the Executive Council has entrusted the special purpose company with managing the School Repair Programme for the second consecutive year. This decision underscores our confidence in E-IDCOT’s ability to address the ongoing needs of our school infrastructure, particularly within the constraints of our budget,” Hackett said.
The School Supervision Unit, in collaboration with the Project Implementation Unit, gathered critical feedback from principals to guide a prioritisation exercise, she said. “This allowed E-IDCOT to focus on the most pressing concerns first, while ensuring that all issues received the Division’s attention. We made a strategic decision to divide the necessary work into two phases. Phase one has concentrated on resolving health and safety concerns, while phase two will address less critical areas throughout the term, with additional work planned for the three-week December vacation,” Hackett said.