Cabinet heaps praise on Hazel for work on schools

The Cabinet yesterday did what the media and by extension the public failed to do — give Education Minister Hazel Manning the credit due for repairing and opening 190 schools on time. While the media has been highlighting the fact that a number of schools could not be opened because repair works had not been completed, the Education Minister earned the commendation of the Cabinet for the “outstanding performance” of the programme. Out of 202 schools under the ministry’s repair programme, 190 were opened for September 5 and an additional ten schools required another week for completion of repairs. Pointing out that this achievement seemed to have escaped media attention, Manning’s colleague Dr Lenny Saith observed that while the media was talking about a half empty glass, it was actually also half full.

Speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference yesterday, Manning gave a detailed account of the programme explaining that its original scope had been broadened, thereby making it more difficult to complete the entire programme of schools. “The advanced age of most of the structures earmarked for repairs presented a challenge for cost estimates prior to the submission of contractors bids,” she said. She added that the cost of material and labour were higher than originally estimated. She said there were schools requiring major electrical, structural and other works. Furthermore, she said,  a number of county medical officers required that the ministry take certain immediate action in mid-August on certain schools, or the schools would be shut down. Manning added that the programme was therefore expanded from 159 to 202 schools, resulting in an increase in the cost from $65.3 million to $97 million.

“When it was evident that the work required was too extensive to fit within the two-month period, the most critical works were executed first to allow for the opening of school and the minor works were scheduled to be continued on weekends,” she said. Manning said renovations began at 185 schools included in the programme. She explained that 174 schools were completed in time for the September 5 reopening and an additional 17 schools were to be reopened one week later on September 12. She said cost variations were due to the repairs to the roof at Mayaro Composite, the renovation of QRC’s science lab and the refurbishment of the Guapo Government Primary School, the inclusion of sewer repairs to a number of schools and the increase in the number of schools repaired.