Angry parents and students of the Penal/Quinam Government Primary school staged a protest yesterday, calling on the Education Ministry to open their new school building.
From around 7 am yesterday, about 60 parents and students blocked the roadway in front of the new school building along the Penal Quinam Main Road.
Bearing placards, the protesters sat on plastic chairs along the roadway, chanting, “We want we school right now!”
The new school building has been under construction for the past two years and since then the 93 students and teachers have been housed in seven containers and the Mendez Village Community Centre.
Head of the school’s Parent Teachers’ Association Maranda de Verteuil-Mendoza said since January, parents have kept their children away from classes because of unsafe conditions in containers.
She added: “From January this term parents decided not to send children to school because we have been facing all sorts of problems with cockroaches, rats and snakes in the containers because this is a rural area.”
“There is not enough space, no air-conditioning, one entrance and exit. This is madness, you can send our children in containers when dog kennels are better than these.
“We are here this morning not only as parents but as villagers, again fighting the cause for our children to be back where they belong. Our Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley) said we are sending out monsters into society but when our children are home, what do you all expect, not that we breed monsters?”
De Verteuil-Mendoza said the new school building was complete, but now the Parent Teachers Association was being told the Education Ministry was awaiting approval from the Ministry of Works to hand over the building.
“They say they are waiting for the Ministry of Works. They have to give us one piece of paper to use the school. They promised us on Ash Wednesday we would be able to use at least one part of the school compound, that is over a month now...why are you all holding our children to ransom?
“If the school is not fit for us, tell us, let us know where we stand as parents and as concerned villagers. This morning we decided to take matters into our own hands again...to bring awareness to the people who sit behind their desks all day and apparently have no idea what is going on in the country.”
Calls to Education Minister Anthony Garcia’s cellphone went unanswered.
However, a source in the Education Ministry said the school was due for a walk-through with ministry officials, the contractor for the project and Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) officials sometime next week.
The source said the delay was being caused to some extent because the buildings needed to be approved by OSH, Fire Service and T&TEC before it can be deemed safe to house students and handed over to the Ministry of Education.