There are approximately 20 schools that remain closed since the new school term officially began on September 8.
According to Education Minister Anthony Garcia, “It is something that we are very concerned about.”
During a brief interview at the celebration hosted by the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) on the occasion of World Maritime Day, yesterday, at the Chaguaramas campus, Garcia deemed this “totally unacceptable.”
Confirming the number of unopened schools, Garcia said he would soon be meeting with his ministry’s permanent secretaries and the Chief Education Officer “to discuss a strategy as we move forward.”
Asked if he intended to review the scope of works by the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL)—the sole entity with responsibility for school repairs, renovations and upgrades—Garcia was cautious in his response.
He said, “EFCL is a company we have to look at very closely. I don’t want to make any definitive statements right now, but it is something we need to look at very closely.”
Also calling for the EFCL’s portfolio to be decentralised was president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Davanand Sinanan who agreed that the company’s remit needed to be scaled down.
Highlighting the current process via which school officials must report any problems and also request assistance to resolve issues affecting their schools’ operations, Sinanan said the inherently bureaucratic process could not be allowed to continue.
Calling for the EFCL’s role to be redefined, Sinanan said by divesting the company of some of its responsibility, school repairs and upgrades would not be held up or drawn out, thereby affecting students.
He explained that if school principals were trained in facility management and given the autonomy to make certain decisions, then small repairs could be done without any long delays.
Additionally, Sinanan said, this move would also eliminate the possibility of corruption relating to the award of contracts, and a more transparent and accountable system could be implemented.
Focusing on the denominational boards, Sinanan said it was also unfair for them to continually call on the Ministry of Education to effect any and all repairs to their respective schools.
“It cannot be that you own the school, determine who is the teacher and who is the principal, and when the school is falling apart, you blame the ministry and ask them to fix it,” he said.
Declaring that it was “an inconvenient truth” and that he didn’t have an axe to grind with anyone, the TTUTA head said the denominational boards needed to take responsibility for their schools’ physical structures and carry out simple repairs before calling on the ministry for assistance.