Parents, teachers concerned

PARENTS of children attending the Early Childhood Care and Education Centre (ECCE) in Never Dirty, Morvant have expressed concern that their children are exposed to the elements during the rainy season since the school is presently housed under a shed.

Three years ago, ECCE teachers were asked to find a place for the school to facilitate the rebuilding of a new community centre. At that time, they were promised accommodation in the annex of the new community centre, but instead they were offered temporary shelter under a shed at a nearby residence.

Although the community centre was completed over a year ago, the school to date, has not received clearance to return to the centre and is still housed under the shed.

A teacher told Newsday that parents kept their children home for the first three weeks of the present school term, to protest the delayed movement back into the community centre whilst some parents have placed their children in other schools.

The teacher indicated that classes are occasionally disrupted during the rainy season by the leaking roof or when a strong breeze blows rain water into the class. The teacher added that they were not allowed back into the community centre because the annex of the building was not constructed in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s “standardised facilities” for preschools.

The teacher said officials at the Ministry of Education have been liaising with the Ministry of Community Development to have the annex upgraded to suit the standardised facilities, however this has not started and there is a fear that with the upcoming rainy season, classes would be hampered again.

Sharon Balroop, Communica-tions Officer at the Ministry of Education, told Newsday a meeting was scheduled with the officials from the Ministry of Community Development later this week to discuss a solution to the school’s problem.