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Standard Five pupils at Canaan Presbyterian School are set to resume classes in a church hall, nearly three weeks after a fire destroyed the school’s main classroom block in Duncan Village, San Fernando, the Trinidad Guardian reported. A Presbyterian Primary Schools’ Board of Education official said the Ministry of Education had approved the hall’s use for Standard Five. Temporary arrangements for other pupils were still being organised while authorities assessed whether the remaining school buildings could safely accommodate classes. The October 14 fire has left pupils without their usual classrooms. The Board official said relocation arrangements required several steps, including approval to demolish the damaged block and work to restore electricity to parts of the compound. The Works Minister visited the school on October 26 to assess the damaged block’s structural integrity. A report from that assessment was expected to be submitted to the Education Ministry. The National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd and the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission were also expected to report on whether electricity could be restored to the administrative block and another building that could accommodate pupils. The Board has been working with the school supervisor, principal and a Parent-Teacher Association representative to identify temporary spaces. The official said Debe Presbyterian, Picton Presbyterian and church halls had been examined as possible locations for Standard Three pupils, while arrangements were being finalised for Standards Three, Four and Five. A PTA representative told the Guardian that parents remained concerned about lost teaching time. Although pupils had received schoolwork daily and teachers were marking it, formal classroom instruction on new topics had not resumed since the fire, the representative said. The parent also said the absence of online lessons had affected continuity and attributed that absence to instructions from the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association. The supplied report did not include a response from the union. Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath said a detailed update would be provided soon. The church hall arrangement offers Standard Five pupils a route back to classroom teaching, while accommodation for other pupils remains dependent on relocation arrangements and the outstanding safety and electricity assessments.
Standard Five pupils at Canaan Presbyterian School are set to resume classes in a church hall, nearly three weeks after a fire destroyed the school’s main classroom block in Duncan Village, San Fernando, the Trinidad Guardian reported.
A Presbyterian Primary Schools’ Board of Education official said the Ministry of Education had approved the hall’s use for Standard Five. Temporary arrangements for other pupils were still being organised while authorities assessed whether the remaining school buildings could safely accommodate classes.
The October 14 fire has left pupils without their usual classrooms. The Board official said relocation arrangements required several steps, including approval to demolish the damaged block and work to restore electricity to parts of the compound.
The Works Minister visited the school on October 26 to assess the damaged block’s structural integrity. A report from that assessment was expected to be submitted to the Education Ministry. The National Maintenance Training and Security Company Ltd and the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission were also expected to report on whether electricity could be restored to the administrative block and another building that could accommodate pupils.
The Board has been working with the school supervisor, principal and a Parent-Teacher Association representative to identify temporary spaces. The official said Debe Presbyterian, Picton Presbyterian and church halls had been examined as possible locations for Standard Three pupils, while arrangements were being finalised for Standards Three, Four and Five.
A PTA representative told the Guardian that parents remained concerned about lost teaching time. Although pupils had received schoolwork daily and teachers were marking it, formal classroom instruction on new topics had not resumed since the fire, the representative said.
The parent also said the absence of online lessons had affected continuity and attributed that absence to instructions from the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association. The supplied report did not include a response from the union.
Education Minister Dr Michael Dowlath said a detailed update would be provided soon. The church hall arrangement offers Standard Five pupils a route back to classroom teaching, while accommodation for other pupils remains dependent on relocation arrangements and the outstanding safety and electricity assessments.
News Desk is the editorial publishing account for Tringlobe Media News, covering breaking news, public affairs, entertainment, community developments and regional stories across Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean and internationally.
