What shutdown?

After almost three weeks of no classes, the Ministry of Education has announced that the Point Fortin East Secondary School will reopen on Monday next week.

In January, the school’s Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) had threatened to shut down the school if repairs that were promised during the Christmas vacation were not done soon.

The work to be done included repairing the ceiling along the corridor and the classrooms of one block; repairing and re-commissioning the gas system in the science labs; and demolishing a block.

On January 14, the PTA protested outside the school to bring attention to the issue. Teachers also walked off the job.

Minister in the Ministry of Education Dr Lovell Francis visited the school and told PTA members work would begin that week.

Another protest was held on January 21, but classes were called off the following day.

Several parents and students gathered outside the school on Tuesday morning, not to protest, but to inform members what its executive had been told.

PTA secretary Robertha St Hillaire told Newsday an executive member of the national PTA received a call on Tuesday saying the school was being shut down until further notice, and passed on the information to the school’s PTA.

“We didn’t get an official message from the ministry. I only got a message from the school supervisor this morning saying the school was closed by instruction.”

She said staff were told to remove their personal belongings from the school.

“The parents are here because we are concerned.

“There are students who have exams. The form threes have NCSE, the form fives have CSEC and the form sixes have CAPE. Some of them are doing sciences and have to complete their labs.”

She said she messaged Francis, who said he had also heard about the shutdown, and that the school supervisors are supposed to meet and work on alternative arrangements.

No teachers attended the meeting.

St Hillaire said, “At the end of the day, even though it’s the PTA, they are represented by TTUTA (TT Unified Teachers Association) so they have to work with what their representative body says.”

She said the teachers are willing to work and have been providing schoolwork and information to students via e-mail and WhatsApp groups.

PTA president Tafara Lewis told Newsday, “This is where we are very much worried about what is going to happen to our children. We need information of what is happening.

“We have been calling and all we have been hearing is, ‘We are unable to give you any information at this time.’

“We are totally fed up and we are here this morning for answers.”

After the meeting, one parent – Luel Boatswain – persuaded the crowd to march to the office of the Point Fortin MP Edmund Dillon to address the issue. She said while she understands he is not a part of the Education Ministry, he was elected to serve the people of Point Fortin.

“It’s time that you come out and show your solidarity.

“Our children must be able to get an education. We not playing no games.

The group walked to the office and spent approximately two hours waiting for Dillon to arrive. Students and parents were seen holding placards and lined up in front of the entrance.

Dillon said Education Minister Anthony Garcia contacted him on Tuesday to say there was an electrical problem that would be sorted out by the end of the week.

He said he visited the school before going to the office and was able to look at the work being done.

Dillon said Garcia had said “they already got the scope of work for the electrical problem. He said it’s under $1 million, which means it got the permanent secretary’s approval. So it doesn’t have to go to Cabinet to get approval. And he said hopefully the school should be opened by next week.”

Asked why the information he was now sharing had not been relayed to the PTA on Monday, he said, “I can’t answer for that. I got that information less than 45 minutes ago. I could only say what the minister said to me.”

But at 2.04 pm, the Education Ministry issued a press release saying there is no shutdown of the school. It also urged members of the public not to spread misinformation.

It said in keeping with the Education Ministry’s mandate to ensure safety for all occupants of the school, a temporary closure for repairs had been recommended.

Classes were to be suspended from Tuesday to this Friday.

It added that infrastructural work was almost complete.