Tuesday, May 13 2008

Concerned parents of students attending the Arima New Government Primary School have decided against sending their children to classes due to a growing rat infestation problem at the school.

According to the parents, the rats have nested under an old, wooden structure which accommodates students of the first, third, fourth and fifth standards.

Classes at the school were suspended since last Wednesday due to the problem with parents claiming that little was being done by the Education Ministry to address the situation.

Very few students reported to school yesterday with parents saying that the action taken was an attempt to highlight the unsafe conditions at the school.

A concerned parent yesterday said promises were made by the Education Ministry to repair the school’s flooring over the weekend but this never materialised.

“The floor boards are rotted. The rats are living under the building and are coming through the holes in the floor,” said the parent.

She added officials from the Health Ministry visited the school and placed rat poison on the compound.

However, the parent stated that the problem seemed to have worsened. She added that a meeting was held yesterday between the principal and the district school supervisor who indicated that the Education Ministry was awaiting a report from the public health inspector.

A source at the school also said teachers were also fed up of the conditions under which they have to work.

Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association president Roustan Job said he hoped the authorities would move with dispatch to resolve the situation. “The school is old. It is a wooden school so it is off the ground. Maybe they should consider breaking down the school and start to re-construct a new building,” said Job.