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🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago /Culture & Society

‘Dilapidated’ school

From Trinidad Express · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Parents and teachers at Marabella North Secondary School say the facilities are unsafe and badly deteriorated ahead of the new school term.
  • They cited rusted furniture and railings, missing windows and tables, rotting ceilings, faulty toilets, pigeon and cat problems, and a lack of fire-safety equipment.
  • The PTA has begun repairs and painting but says it needs urgent government assistance for the school’s more than 600 pupils and 70 staff members.

The classrooms at Marabella North Secondary School are “unfit for teaching purposes,” according to PTA vice-president and former student Marlon Jaikaran, who says students need a safe, comfortable and clean place to learn.

PTA members described a long list of problems at the school. Chairs and railings are rusted, while chairs, windows and tables are missing. The gaps allow cats to enter and defecate inside the building. The roof and stairways are in poor condition, ceilings have rotted, pigeons have infested parts of the school, and some toilets do not work. The school also has no fire extinguishers or water hose, while the grass needs cutting.

The condition of the playing field also prevented the school from registering for the secondary school football competition because students had nowhere to train. More than 600 pupils and 70 staff members use the school, which includes more than 20 classrooms in a three-storey block and separate classrooms for Upper and Lower Sixth Form.

The classrooms are unfit for teaching purposes (and) for children going in there to start to learn for the coming new term. When you come out to learn, you need to have somewhere safe and comfortable and clean, and they are not getting it in the school.

· Marlon JaikaranThe PTA vice-president described the condition of the school ahead of its reopening.

The school is due to reopen on Monday, and Jaikaran said there is no plan to keep students away. He warned, however, that challenges would remain, with September 7 approaching. The PTA has painted parts of the school since last week and said roughly half of the work has been completed. Members have also organised fundraisers and sought donations from parents.

Jaikaran said the PTA and principal had repeatedly written to the Ministry of Education over several years but had seldom received responses. Although work was recently carried out on the science block, he said it was insufficient. “We are asking for the Government, we are asking for the ministry to try and put a helping hand because the PTA cannot do it by themselves.”

We are asking for the Government, we are asking for the ministry to try and put a helping hand because the PTA cannot do it by themselves.

· Marlon JaikaranHe appealed for government assistance after the PTA organised repairs, fundraisers and donations.
About this summary

Originally published by Trinidad Express. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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