The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association said that not all schools in Tobago were ready to open, based on issues that arose on the first and second days of the new academic year.
TTUTA Tobago Officer Bradon Roberts said that some schools, like Golden Lane and Roxborough Secondary, faced furniture shortages, while others had none at all.
On the first day, Roberts said some teachers couldn't teach because they spent the day cleaning classrooms.
Speaking to Guardian Media during a visit to schools on the island, Roberts noted that the Education, Research, and Technology Division's claim that all Tobago schools were ready to open was not entirely true, based on his observations.
Roberts said, “The furniture issue is an island-wide issue in the main. There are schools that are pretty well-off. We have some primary schools, the infant furniture and the quality of the furniture over the years, the material used (they) don’t last. The secondary school is more large scale where it’s hundreds of chairs.”
He said that at Moriah Primary Government School, only one toilet in the girls' bathroom was working.
He added, “It’s no secret at all a number of them aren’t ready. We have where workmen were working on weekends. Workmen were given instructions to go out to schools the week before school opened.”
Speaking on a morning show yesterday morning, Education Secretary Zorisha Hackett explained that repairing schools in Tobago is challenging and expensive because the buildings are old.
Only two years ago, the Division of Education spent $4 million on school furniture, but issues with school infrastructure and resource management persist.
According to Hackett, the challenges are widespread and not limited to Tobago alone.
“Our schools are old,” Hackett said, noting that even the newer schools, like Scarborough RC, have been experiencing most issues.
She said the age of the buildings means constant maintenance is needed, but the process is complicated.
Hackett explained that the procurement process for repairs is strict and time-consuming. “You can’t just walk up to a school and say, ‘Contractor, go there,’” she said.
Instead, she explained, each project must go through a detailed scoping and prioritization process. Even then, she said, unexpected problems, like the corroded beams found during roof repairs at Scarborough Secondary, can cause costs to rise significantly.
She said what usually starts as a minor repair can quickly turn into an expensive project.
Hackett also addressed the issue of furniture shortages, explaining that while $4 million was spent on new furniture two years ago, it wasn’t enough to fully furnish every school.
She said the division continues to distribute furniture based on available resources, with some officials at schools refurbishing old furniture themselves.
She spoke of the need for better resource management and shared responsibility, particularly among students. “As Secretary, I would want to open every school term with brand new furniture in every school, but there must be some responsibility also allocated to the students.”
Hackett said that managing limited resources is a tough but necessary conversation. “If you spend money on the furniture, it doesn’t mean that you’re foregoing paying off some increments and gratuity. These are the tough conversations we need to have.”