Parents of students attending the Curepe Presbyterian Primary School are calling on the Ministry of Education to complete the new school building so that students can be relocated from the old facility which is now posing a threat to their health.
During an early morning protest outside the school at Lyndon Street, Curepe, yesterday the angry parents said work was halted last May but was yet to resume one year later.
Claiming they were unaware as to why it had officially stopped, parent Aruna Mohammed-Singh explained:
“They took almost the entire back of the compound where the football field was to start construction. They raised the level of the new school so that it was slightly higher than that of the existing school so whenever there is heavy rainfall, it is now affecting the building the children and teachers occupy.”
Mohammed-Singh said a temporary connection with the existing drainage and sewer system had led to the old school building flooding every time it rained heavily.
She added: “There is flooding in the bathrooms the students have to use as well as those used by the teachers.
“There is sewer water gathering and settling near the Infants Department which encourages mosquitoes and is a health hazard to all the students. Also, there are rats now as the bushes at the back are overgrown.”
Adding that there was a lack of parking spaces on the compound with teachers having to park on the roadway, she said students were unable to enjoy any recreation as the school was cramped and overcrowded.
Mohammed-Singh said they had been warned by the contractor not to enter the unfinished premises which remained locked.
She said teachers and parents were willing to clean the site which also had containers on it but that suggestion had been rejected.
She appealed to the authorities to complete the building which she said was already 75 per cent finished.
Mohammed-Singh said the new building needed to be wired and outfitted with furniture.
Revealing the problems had resulted in the early dismissal of classes several times since the new school term started, she said the 660 students and 28 teachers were unhappy about the matter.
Calls to the head of the Presbyterian School Board, Lennox Sirjuesingh, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association Devanand Sinanan and Education Minister Anthony Garcia all proved futile.
Meanwhile, teachers of the Sangre Grande Secondary School remained away from work for a third consecutive day yesterday.
Teachers reportedly embarked on sick out action on Wednesday morning after the sewer system began malfunctioning.
Parents claimed school officials assured that remedial work would be carried out this weekend.
However, they have vowed to continue to stay away from classes if the problem was not rectified by Monday.