Two years after Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly announced that construction of the Holy Cross Anglican Primary School in Marabella was 90 per cent complete, the school remains unopened.
Yesterday, parents and members of the Marabella Boys’ and Girls’ Past Students’ Association staged a placard demonstration in front of the school compound, demanding answers from the Minister and San Fernando West MP Faris Al-Rawi.
Pupils of the Marabella Boys’ and Girls’ Anglican Schools were relocated nine years ago to facilitate the construction of a new building and are being accommodated at the St Paul’s Boys’ Anglican and other schools.
In a WhatsApp response yesterday, Gadsby-Dolly said electrical work is still outstanding and the building has not yet been handed over to the ministry. She said the issue has been discussed with the MTS, which is managing the project, and the Anglican Board.
“The Ministry of Education cannot responsibly allow students to occupy a structure that does not have the required clearance from T&TEC,” she explained.
Spokesperson for the Past Students’ Association, Trevor Morris, said in 2019 Al-Rawi indicated that $400 million had been borrowed to pay contractors and efforts were being made to have construction of the school building completed as soon as possible.
“We had a number of statements being made, which, to us, doesn’t make one bit of sense because we did not get up at the end of August 2023 and know that school would be opened on the fourth of September. Planning had to be done, yet it has been nine years and counting,” he said.
Marisa Davis, a representative of the Parent Teachers’ Association, said she wanted to know when the school would be opened.
“We have been hearing for years every year is the next year, every term is the next term. Today we would like to find out the exact day our children will be able to enter their school which has already been completed, and we would also like to get answers as to why we are not able to get into the school as yet and what is the keep back.”
Codeen Williams also complained that she has not been able to send her son to school because the government shuttle service has been unavailable since the start of the school term.
“The transport has not received his money, so he will not be taking the children to school, so my son is home. Next year he have Common Entrance and he is missing a lot of education right now. I would like to find out urgently from the ministry this week,” she said.
Marabella West councillor John Alibocas, who expressed solidarity with the parents, called on the Government to indicate when the school would be opened.