Senior Reporter
kay-marie.fletcher@guardian.co.tt
Emotions ran high yesterday, as parents of students attending the Mt Hope Secondary School demanded answers from the Ministry of Education on how soon their children would be relocated to another building.
The parents claimed the youngsters are in danger, as the school’s deplorable conditions have now become unsafe.
At the start of the new academic year, parents had protested major health and safety concerns, including a woodlice infestation, a leaking roof and a damaged staircase.
Three weeks later, parents returned to the school yesterday to stage another protest, this time to bring attention to an infestation of centipedes and other insects, which caused some teachers and children to get sick.
As a result, some parents have refused to send their children to school and some teachers have reportedly issued refusals to work until the MoE addresses these concerns.
Speaking outside the school, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) president Marilyn Marquis was emotional as she spoke about the unsafe conditions.
“The issues affecting our school is of imminent danger and risks to the lives and the health of our children and the staff... There were centipedes, snakes, African snails running about our school yesterday and our kids were allowed to come sit in this environment.”
The parents said classes were also disrupted this week as the school was flooded and claimed some teachers were also placed on sick leave after being electrocuted while attempting to switch off a light at the school.
Education Ministry officials visited Mt Hope Secondary to meet with school staff yesterday as the parents stood outside. However, the PTA and parents complained they were excluded from the meeting and left without answers.
This led to some parents becoming visibly upset.
“I say I not going to get on bad, but if I have to do it, I will do it. I am telling you if I have to block this gate and bun it down to prove a point, I will do it. I don’t care who stand up behind me or not. I’m telling you don’t waste my time. I come here today to get an answer,” shouted a parent.
Efforts to contact Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Martin Lum Kin on the issues at the school were unsuccessful.