Teachers walked off the job at two secondary schools and a primary school in South Trinidad on the second day of school yesterday, because electrical and air-conditioning problems.
This was confirmed by Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association president Lynsley Doodhai, who called on the Ministry of Education to urgently address these problems.
Doodhai said the ministry has also been given until Monday to address issues of rat and pigeon infestations, falling ceilings and rotting floors at the San Fernando Boys’ Government Primary School, or the teaching staff will take similar action.
Concerned for their safety and welfare, teachers, on the advice of TTUTA, walked off the jobs at Princes Town East Secondary School for the second day, the San Fernando Central Secondary (Mud Sec) and the Buenos Ayres Government Primary School.
Speaking in front of San Fernando Central yesterday, Doodhai said they had issued a press release on Monday afternoon indicating that teachers would have withdrawn their services yesterday because of electrical problems at the school.
He said teachers reported for duty but left around 9.30 am.
“It seems that the school is in need of an electrical upgrade. The panel box, it was reported to us, is getting very hot, even may be smoking and the panel box is located in close proximity to the chemistry lab where there are dangerous chemicals stored and also to gas reserve tanks. So it will pose a danger if anything happens with the electrical system and the school with respect to a fire.”
He said an ongoing problem with the air-conditioning system resulted in teachers walking off the job at Princes Town East Secondary on Monday and again yesterday around 8.45 am.
Doodhai said Buenos Ayres Government Primary in Erin also had electrical problems, resulting in teachers leaving the school around lunchtime.
With regards to the San Fernando Boys’ Government School, he said, “We have given the Ministry of Education until Monday to step in and rectify the problems. If that is not done the staff will also be removing itself from that school.”
Expressing displeasure about how the ministry has prepared the schools, he said, “The 142 schools which were earmarked for repairs, it is common knowledge now that not all of these repairs have been completed.”
Apart from those schools, Doodhai said there are other schools, including San Fernando Boys’ Government, which are in critical need of repairs but could not be repaired because of financial constraints.
Reiterating that TTUTA will take a zero tolerance stance to health and safety issues at schools, he said if the environment is unsafe for teachers, then it is unsafe for the students.
“I will just like parents to know that teachers will not be coming back out to school to perform their duties until the problems are rectified and they can pick sense from nonsense and they could make a decision based on what I have said.”
When contacted yesterday, Ministry officials said a contractor has been hired to do the necessary repairs at the boys’ school, a team had visited the Central Secondary yesterday to assess the scope of the work to be done and at Princes Town Secondary efforts were being made to rectify the problem. The official said they were told that at Buenos Ayres there was an electrical outage because of an upgrade being done by TTEC, but electricity has since returned.