The Ministry of Education does not have any plans to disestablish the Piccadilly Government Primary School.
This was confirmed by Education Minister Anthony Garcia, who said the school has been placed on a priority list with 27 primary and secondary schools to either be rebuilt and/or for construction to resume during the 2018/2019 academic year.
Garcia said, “I give the assurance that work will start on the rebuilding of this school during this academic year.”
He revealed that the two-storey structure at Piccadilly Street was to be demolished and a new, modern building erected at the site.
A school can be disestablished when there are no students enrolled at the facility.
In September 2015, approximately 41 Standard Four and Standard Five pupils along with their teachers were relocated to the Tranquillity Government Primary School, corner of Stanmore Avenue and Tragrete Road, after Piccadilly Government Primary School was deemed unsafe for occupation.
A further 41 pupils were later transferred after the school was officially condemned.
Senior education officials claimed parents of the students who were previously attending the Piccadilly Government Primary School had, over the last five years, transferred their children to other schools, rendering the institution “student-less” until the start of this academic year.
This information was dismissed by Garcia who claimed, “There are approximately 12 students currently enrolled at the school.”
“When a school is decanted or shifted, you usually find a decline in the student population. This is what has happened here.”
A report on the school’s operations is being prepared to be handed over to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
Pressed to speak about the report which Rowley has allegedly requested and why, Garcia declined to answer any questions on that matter.
The investigation into the school’s status got under way several weeks ago after it was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) that although there were no pupils attending the Piccadilly Government Primary School, the principal along with three teachers, a security guard and a cleaner remained on the school’s payroll.
Asked why the ministry had not intervened before, Garcia said, “We did everything possible to maintain the school’s operations and I am confident when the school is rebuilt, the student population will once again increase.”
Located within the constituency of embattled Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald, Garcia said, “The location of the school is in an area where there is a need for school places. We will rebuild and students will have an opportunity to come to school there once again.”
TTUTA comments
Commenting on the matter, Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) President Lynsley Doodhai expressed concern about the small number of students attending the school.
He said, “It is strange that parents in Port-of-Spain are complaining of not being able to get their children into a primary school, yet here is a school that is open yet not operating as it should.”
Doodhai questioned, “Does the ministry have a plan to disestablish the school?”
He said Caigual RC Primary School in the Sangre Grande region and the Trinity Government Primary School in Mayaro were both disestablished just over five years ago because there are no students enrolled at either facility.
He said when schools are disestablished, students are normally absorbed by nearby schools or transferred to a school of their parent’s choice, with staff being reassigned to other schools where vacancies exist.
A visit to the old Piccadilly school on Friday confirmed the presence of a security guard on duty.
Standing outside the padlocked gate, the decay of the school was evident as grass and vines covered the perimeter fence and snaked along the security wall. Cracked and peeling exterior walls and moss-covered areas could be seen from the roadway.