The deplorable conditions of the Arima Central Secondary School has led Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh to call for an independent audit of all government secondary schools.He did so after touring the school and scolding Arima Central principal Bernice Davis for the shabby conditions of the institution, telling her "quiet" in the presence of ministry officials, parents, students and the members of the board as she attempted to explain why the school looked the way it did.
Gopeesingh insisted that Davis was not managing the school properly and was failing in her responsibilities. He cited a number of issues including overgrown grass on the playing field, broken chairs stacked in a corner, dirty tank stands and unclean floors, which he said could have been addressed by Davis.The 52-year-old school receives $1,050,000 from the ministry annually. Each secondary school receives between $1 and $2 million annually.
When Davis said the school's cleaners were not performing their duties, Gopeesingh interjected, "You have a responsibility. That money is given to manage the school. We are here to get things right."Gopeesingh told Davis that cleaners who refused to follow instructions would face disciplinary action.The minister then informed his deputy permanent secretary Simone Thorne-Moora that he wanted an audit of all government secondary schools.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Gopeesingh said under the Education Act, every school and board were required to present to him an audited statement for the previous year.He said none of the 90 secondary schools had submitted one, while only two of 18 school boards had presented theirs.
Asked when the audit would begin, Gopeesingh said, "I have asked for an audit two years ago as a minister and unfortunately no permanent secretary has been able to help me, even though there is an audit team at the ministry. So what do I do as a minister when it is not forthcoming? Do you go on a massive disciplinary action programme?"
Gopeesingh said he intended to speak with Thorne-Moora "to see if we can get an independent audit from outside by one of these major auditing companies. We have to go out for tender."Asked if principals were mismanaging state funds, Gopeesingh said, "I don't want to put it as mismanagement, but possibly they needed to look at their expenditure from a management perspective. They need to do the things that are urgent and important."
Classes at Arima Central will resume on Wednesday as the ministry continues to execute emergency repairs on the structure which is more than 52 years old and is in poor condition.