Parents of students attending the Clarke Rochard Government Primary School are calling on the Education Ministry to fix an electrical problem at their school.
For two months since school resumed, over 600 students have been enduring humid classrooms with poor ventilation and improper lighting because the school is without a power supply.
Parent Camellia Sotio said children were feeling sick in the classrooms because of the heat. She said since the term opened students from the lower classes were being dismissed at 11 am but the Standard Five pupils are kept in the heat and darkness until 3 pm.
"Some parents have lost their jobs because they have to take time off from work to come twice daily to pick up children. Some of the children have to walk home because they do not have school transportation at 11 am and this is dangerous because they could get bounced down in the road," Sotio told Guardian Media.
Parent Karen Sobrian-Sooklal said a month ago they spoke with school officials and representatives of the Education Ministry and were told it would be rectified within a few days.
"It's been a month since then and we still waiting. Our children are suffering," Sobrian-Sooklal said.
Parent Adesh Kanhai said he was told by a senior school official that it would cost $8,000 to fix the problem. Kanhai said he was willing to fix the electrical issue and take reimbursement from the ministry later on.
The parents say if the electricity is not restored soon they will take their protest to the office of the Education Ministry.
The T&T Guardian will bring you more as this story unfolds.
