Parents protest for school in Pt Fortin

Parents of pupils attending Point Fortin Anglican Primary School have vowed to keep their children away from classes at two temporary locations from next week Monday. The action will be taken if the new school building is not opened by the Ministry of Education. Disgruntled parents, led by the school’s Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA) president Margaret Gabriel, braved the midday sun yesterday to stage a noisy demonstration outside the St Mark’s Anglican Church Hall. For the past seven years, the school’s 476 pupils have been forced to occupy the hall and one of Petrotrin’s administrative buildings, the latter located adjacent to the Point Fortin District Hospital.

The old school building, located at School Road, was condemned by the ministry. Gabriel and parents complained that the church hall’s lighting system was not adequate and its toilet and washroom facilities were overused. We had a PTA meeting in the hall one evening and the smell was unbearable. So you can well imagine what our children endure during school time,” Gabriel said. During these dry season days of extreme midday heat, she added, temperatures in the hall have become unbearable. 

After it was closed seven years ago, construction on a new building began in 2002 and was completed last year. A completely new school now stands, but Gabriel said parents were at a loss as to when it would be opened. “We are not getting any definitive answers on when this school will be opening,” Gabriel said, adding that its commissioning was postponed from January to April. “But we are almost at the end of April and still no word. Parents are frustrated,” Gabriel said. Communications specialist in the Ministry of Education, Mervyn Critchlow, told Newsday the ministry is aware of the situation and intends to issue a full statement on the matter.