All primary and secondary schools across T&T will remain closed today.
This was announced by National Security Minister Stuart Young during a press conference around 4 pm yesterday.
Young said, “All schools will be closed tomorrow.”
And while school doors will remain shut, Young has said that businesses and government offices will be opened as normal.
He said the decision not to shut down the country was carefully taken after discussions with the Meteorological Services and other relevant agencies.
The announcement followed the 3 pm downgrade of the tropical storm warning for T&T.
Citizens, meanwhile, were placed on a red alert for riverine flooding as officials warned that rivers across the country were expected to overspill their banks during the night as threshold levels were breached by 4 pm yesterday.
Contacted shortly after Young’s announcement, Education Minister Anthony Garcia confirmed students were to remain at home.
He said with tomorrow being a public holiday—Republic Day— schools were expected to reopen on Wednesday as normal.
However, he admitted schools in flood-prone areas affected by rising waters would not be ready to receive students tomorrow.
Garcia said affected schools would be assessed and announcements issued advising parents as to reopening schedules.
Appealing to parents to ensure children kept well away from floodwaters, Garcia warned of diseases and other water-borne threats.
He said even though students will be at home, it was important for parents to ensure they were not exposed to anything that could disrupt their education in the long run.
President of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai welcomed the announcement as he said there were teachers who had been affected by the heavy rains and subsequent flooding.