ANDRE WORRELL
The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the San Juan South Secondary will be staging protest action in front of the school’s compound today over the dilapidated state of classrooms and buildings.
Spokesman Osman Barrock said the PTA has been locked in a back and forth with the Ministry of Education over repairs that need to be carried out at the school.
“Since June 6, Osha served notice to the school that the labs were unfit for classes. On June 15, the Education Facilities Company (EFCL) told us the school had been put on a priority list for vacation repairs. Throughout July and August contractors came to survey the work that needed to be done, but nothing was done,” he said.
Barrock said just before the beginning of the new term, the school supervisor for the district contacted the principal to find out if the school would be ready. Upon being told that the school would not be ready to accommodate all students because no repairs were done to the labs, the supervisor suggested that tents be erected in the field to accommodate students. Barrock said this suggestion was met with opposition.
One day before the start of the new school term, an adviser to the Education Minister Anthony Garcia met with the school’s administration and suggested that four pre-fab classrooms be placed on the compound to accommodate the roughly 160 displaced students. The adviser said the pre-fab classrooms would take two to three weeks to be set up on the compound.
Barrock said not having full use of the facilities is a major inconvenience to the students.
“We had to set up a shift system to accommodate the students. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we have Form 3 and 4 students attending classes, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have Form 1 and 2 students. Form five students attend classes every day. Clearly this situation cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.
“We want the Minister of Education and the EFCL to keep their promises and repair the facilities or provide us with the pre-fab classrooms. We have been going back and forth with this situation since June and we are no closer to resolving the situation today.”