Students at Tunapuna Secondary School have been at high risk in recent weeks because of a highly toxic smell in the area and leaking sewerage lines close by, parents and students complained on Tuesday.
Several students have gone home sick with headaches because of the toxicity of the odour, a spokesman said.
A number of them are also being forced to attend classes with scent-soaked handkerchiefs pressed to their nostrils, due to the strong foul smell. Parents said several reports had been made about the situation, but nothing has been done to rectify it. A sewerage line in a nearby housing development had been an issue for some time, they added.
The school has an 80-plus per cent pass rate. Parents say they fear the current situation will soon cause an outbreak of some disease. Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh did not answer phone calls on the issue yesterday. Several parents and student said they hoped to file a complaint with Tunapuna MP Winston Dookeran who is expected to be in the area on Monday afternoon, viewing mas. (GA)