Special maxis for Biche students

From next January, Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) will operate a regular maxi-taxi service to transport the children of Biche directly to their schools, Education Minister Hazel Manning announced yesterday. She was speaking yesterday in the House of Representatives on a motion on the adjournment. It was filed by Nariva MP Harry Partap on the failure of the Government to take steps to open the Biche High School, resulting in serious inconvenience for the children of Biche. Manning said recent landslips and earthquakes in Trinidad and Tobago had served to reinforce her decision not to open the Biche High School until the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry were implemented.

Noting that the Biche report warned of gas and oil emissions, landslips and soil erosion and the risk of earthquakes, she said these were serious concerns especially in the light of nature’s unpredictability at home, regionally and internationally. She said site tours showed that water continued to collect under the building, that the cracks were growing larger and the land continued to be unstable. “I do not intend to place school children in any environment that is hazardous. I stand by that decision and I repeat that until advised otherwise by technical experts, there is no way that I am going to expose the children of Biche to the environment of the school site,” she said. The minister revealed that “no more than five of the 139 students” from the Biche High School dropped out over the period 2001-2004.

She said attorneys supported Government’s contention that the school should not be opened until the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Biche were adhered to. She added that the report of Senior Counsel was before the Cabinet “for its directions” which identifies those who were culpable. Manning also said TTUTA had indicated they would not support the placement of teachers at Biche unless all the health and safety measures were in place and the Ministry of Education had given clearance. Manning said the Biche Presbyterian Primary School, which was in the same vicinity as the Biche High School, remained closed by the Presbyterian Board.

Recalling that teachers and students fell ill at that school, the minister asked, “Why is the Honourable Member for Nariva not asking the Board about the opening of that school?” Manning said those who built the Biche High School ignored the advice that the site was unsuitable. Noting that Government was taking all the necessary steps to implement the recommendations of the Commission, she said the Ministry of Education had last month submitted  the revised tender documents for an assessment study on the Biche High School, (for the third time) to the Central Tenders Board. This was after two previous attempts to invite tenders had produced unsatisfactory results.