FOR the second straight term this academic year, Scarborough Secondary School will not reopen on time.
The Division of Education, Research and Technology announced on Saturday that the school will remain closed until January 9 to facilitate repairs. All schools are scheduled to reopen on January 3.
Last September, the school had to remain closed because of incomplete works.
On Saturday the division said the delay in reopening is due to ongoing infrastructural works to restore the structural integrity of the school’s auditorium. Following this phase of the project, minor works will continue on afternoons and weekends until the project’s completion.
The division said a three-hour long meeting was held on Friday, following a site visit, and "a collective decision was made by all stakeholders present that the contractor should be granted an additional week to forge ahead with this extremely technical project, before the resumption of face-to-face classes for forms one to five."
The division said Secretary of Education Zorisha Hackett led the discussion on the ongoing challenges at the 62-year-old institution. It said all stakeholders contributed to solutions that will limit learning loss during this week off.
A follow-up meeting was scheduled for January 3, at 10am at the Shaw Park Complex, to further discuss the school’s relocation. This meeting will be jointly hosted by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, Hackett and all stakeholders relevant to this project.
The division said it continues to place the safety and comfort of all staff and students first, while renewing its commitment to maintaining this current facility until a new school is delivered.
In an interview to Newsday on Sunday, TTUTA Tobago officer Bradon Roberts said it was "extremely unfortunate" that the school is back in this situation.
"The division needs to avoid this, so we don't need to have these emergency meetings – work needs to start on time.
"Major infrastructure works, I thought you would have waited July-August – you don't go into a three-week vacation and don't do anything in the first week," Roberts said.
He noted that there are other safety hazards at the school that should have been addressed by now.
"The division is dragging its feet...There is no functioning fire extinguisher at the school – no fire detection system...We wrote to OSH in June last year and OSH gave them a deadline. They started some of the work so OSH gave them an extension."
He called for a contingency plan in case the work at the auditorium is not completed by January 9.
"What happens to the children then? What happens to the teachers that need to complete their curriculum? We are adding to their frustration."
During this week off, the division advised students to check the school’s website and their e-mails for correspondence from their respective teachers.
Scarborough Secondary has been in a significant state of disrepair for some time. Coastal erosion affecting the foundation of the school has made relocation necessary.
On October
