The pre-dawn protest prompted a massive traffic pile-up along the Guaracara/Tabaquite Road as police could not remove the debris immediately. The sand heap interspersed with tyres remained across the street for over four hours before it was removed by two backhoes.
During that time, parents padlocked the gates of the school as they stood outside the compound holding up placards and chanting: "We want a new school."
President of the school's PTA, Renoka Singh, said the school building was 63 years old. Apart from cramped classrooms, poor ventilation and no proper playground, Singh said there were only two toilets to serve 153 pupils. Over the past few months rats and snakes have been found in the classrooms, the last snake being spotted on Saturday by a janitor, Singh added.
"The rats live under the school building and they feed from a dumpster just outside the school gate," she complained, adding that a new school building was started in 2015 and was already 95 per cent complete. However, in August the contractor abandoned works because of non-payment by the Education Ministry, Singh explained.
Another parent, Rachel Jagdeo, said yesterday her son, Ranjeev, was asthmatic and the poorly ventilated classrooms were affecting his health.
"I always have to take him to the hospital. It is frustrating," she said.
Suzie Ramnarine, whose grandson attends the school, said the dumpster was also affecting children's health. "It is unsanitary. It stinks up the school and it is unfair that our children have to go through this."
Chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Aiknath Singh, who visited the protesters said it was time for the Government to complete the new school. Singh said two prefabricated schools were built within months for the Barrackpore Vedic and New Grant Anglican Schools. "Is it because this is a Hindu school that the children have to suffer?" Singh asked. He said he planned to contact the Ministry of Education to make representation on behalf of the parents.
Contacted yesterday, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Dr Lovell Francis, assured parents that the new school would be completed soon.
"We are in the process of paying the contractors so within short order the school construction will resume. I would like the parents to know that we are aware of it and we are dealing with it," Francis added.
Naparima MP, Rodney Charles, said the contractor who is building the school is owed some $11 million by the State.
In a statement, Charles said only $2 million was approved for the school in the 2017 Budget.
"I raised the matter Friday last in Parliament during the 'Urgent Questions to Ministers' session. He responded that he was hopeful that the contractor would begin work if partial payments were made.
"I followed up with a supplemental question that if only $2 million (as indicated in the Budget) were paid there would still be a significant outstanding payment of $9 million owed. He replied that he remained hopeful nevertheless; that this PNM Government was a hopeful one," Charles said.
He noted that construction of the new school started under the People's Partnership government. The arrangement was that the SDMS Board would contribute the land and the State would construct the school.
Adjacent to the school, which is among the top ten per cent of performing primary schools academically based on standardised tests, is a 99 per cent completed Early Childhood Care Centre which has not been handed over to the SDMS Board.
Charles also said about three miles north of Reform Village in Ben Lomond stands an unopened fully completed Early Childhood Care Centre for which the contractor is owed outstanding payments.
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