Silent protest for new school

They gave a letter of complaint to Education Minister Anthony Garcia which was copied to Barataria/ San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan who told Newsday he supported their call.

In the letter the PTA said male pupils were relocated to Tunapuna on August 31, 2013 and the girls in September 2014 as the ministry had promised to rebuild the old building, with work on both schools beginning in October 2014.

“However to our great surprise the work suddenly stopped in October 2015 and security was removed.

“Presently the school has been taken over by pigeons, bats, rats and other animals and the grounds have been covered by high bushes and weeds.

Homeless persons, even a paedophile trying to take little girls and drug addicts are also seen entering the compound during the day and mainly at nights. It has also come to our attention that thieves are stealing materials from the building.” The parents lamented that the PTA had sought information on several occasions from ministry officials but had received none.

While grateful for the interim Tunapuna site, the PTA highlighted its drawbacks including the lack of a play area and frequent problems with toilets and air-conditioning that causes the school to be disrupted. All concerned are stressed by transport issues which has taken a toll on pupil performance.

“Many parents have decided to take their children out of the school because of the difficulty of travelling.” Saying pupils have suffered for four years, the letter said a “temporary arrangement” is now starting to look permanent even as they yearned for their children to have a comfortable, safe and modern learning environment in which to prosper.

Garcia told Newsday he had just met the PTA delegation. He said starting on Monday he would try to help to alleviate their discomfort at their interim accommodation at Tunapuna. He could not say when construction would be undertaken on the new school site at San Juan, but recalled that in his previous statement to Parliament during the mid-year review debate he had named ten schools earmarked for work including the San Juan schools. “The funding is available,” Garcia said, but did not have the figure at hand.

While initially saying work would begin “very shortly” he declined to give a full timeline so as not to be accused of making promises he couldn’t keep.