DOWLATT'S SCHOOL TOUR

CCNTV6

With students returning to classrooms on Monday, the Education Minister says schools across Trinidad and Tobago are on track to reopen on time.  Dr. Michael Dowlath spent Friday touring repair works at several schools, where he said emergency crews will continue working through the weekend to address outstanding issues.  TV6 joined part of that tour.

Transcript

00:00Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlach says repair works have been carried out at hundreds of schools

00:06during the vacation with additional emergency crews deployed to deal with last-minute issues

00:11before students return. And so our Honorable Prime Minister has indicated to us that like last year

00:20where for every single term for the three terms all schools were reopened on time that we are

00:25setting that same target for us. And so today we're starting here in south of the poverty girls and

00:30then we are going to central and then we're going to north. I'm working together with the MTS together

00:36with the school principals and so over 300 schools I think the exact number will be about 359 that we

00:44are looking at. Dowlach says priority works included essential systems and infrastructure with safety

00:50measures to be implemented wherever construction remains underway. We have focus on washrooms

01:00sewer systems electrical systems water storage ensuring that the roof and classrooms are intact

01:09that the schools have the right furniture to ensure that even if work has continued that schools can

01:17start those areas will be hoarded off and safety signs will be put in place. TV6 news joined the tour

01:26at

01:26Parabiti Girls Hindu College where we observed ongoing construction of a new sixth form building to replace

01:33two unsafe prefab classrooms that were taken out of use last year. The school's principal says classes

01:39continued throughout the last academic year despite the loss of both classrooms. The new building however is not

01:47expected to be completed when school reopens. The ministry of education's repair program is being

01:52managed by the maintenance training and security division MTS. The organization says more than 100

01:58projects have already been completed with the work continuing at other schools. I'm happy that the majority

02:05of our projects are ongoing over 100 projects are completed fully completed and we've had absolute cooperation

02:13from our principal's minister and the ministry of education so at this point in time we can safely say

02:19that we have no school in our radar that will be inhibited from opening. The tour also took the minister

02:26to

02:26Grant Memorial Presbyterian School where repair works are underway. Dawlat says those works are expected to be

02:33completed by Sunday. Aksha Galston, TV6 News.

02:36Aksha Galston, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News,

02:37TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News,

02:37TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News, TV6 News

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