Pupils at the Tunapuna Anglican Primary School who showed up for school yesterday morning were sent home as repairs were still being carried out on the building.A staff member said construction which was scheduled for the Easter vacation only began on Sunday.Work being conducted on the Morton Street school include electrical, roof and toilet repairs and installation of water pumps.The staff member said teachers came to work but were agitated and frustrated by the school's condition."Only two boys' toilets and two girls' toilets are working...There isn't any water at the school and there is a need for water pumps," the staff member said. "We cannot allow the pupils to attend school in this condition." The School, which accommodates 339 pupils will "most likely" reopen on Monday.President of the T&T Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) Roustan Job said apart from this report, the association had not received any other reports of schools being closed.In an interview yesterday Job said the new term opening was "smooth."
Two weeks ago, Job had threatened that teachers would not show up for duty after the Easter vacation because of the slow pace of negotiations between TTUTA and the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO).Job, however, said a meeting would be held on Friday at 9.30 am with the CPO to discuss any changes in Government's position."We are hoping good sense will prevail and there will be an acceptable offer. We are sticking to the External Labour Market Survey."Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh said "everything went well" in the educational districts.He said his understanding was that two schools remained closed because of construction and will reopen "for the latest" tomorrow.