A man has highlighted the deteriorating condition of the unfinished Mt Hope Secondary School, showing an abandoned hall, overgrown classroom spaces and sections he says have been taken over by bats and pigeons. During a video tour of the compound, the man walked through what was supposed to become the school hall and pointed to the area intended to serve as a stage for principals and teachers during school presentations. “This is the hall, or what was supposed to be the hall,” he said. He also showed classroom areas being overtaken by bush and pointed to what he described as bat and pigeon droppings inside parts of the facility. For the man conducting the tour, the condition of the property represents a lost opportunity for students. He questioned who ultimately suffers when educational infrastructure is left unused, arguing that children depend on education as a vehicle to improve their lives. The video was accompanied by a claim that TT$131.7 million had been spent on the New Mt Hope Secondary School. Government financial records, however, provide important context to that figure. The Ministry of Finance’s 2023 State Enterprises Investment Programme listed the estimated total cost of the Mt Hope Secondary School project at TT$219.5 million, revised downward from TT$258.2 million. It listed TT$75.1 million as estimated expenditure between April and September 2022, while TT$131.7 million was projected for fiscal 2023. More recent Government records show that the projected spending did not materialise at that level. The 2026 State Enterprises Investment Programme records TT$13.3 million in actual expenditure from the start of the programme through September 2023, followed by zero expenditure in the periods listed through September 2025. The estimated total project cost remains TT$219.5 million, with the project described as being in the planning stage.
The records therefore indicate that the widely circulated TT$131.7 million figure represented projected expenditure rather than the amount eventually recorded as having been spent. Meanwhile, the man said students continue attending the original Mt Hope Secondary School while the newer facility remains unused. His tour has again placed attention on the unfinished compound, its deteriorating condition and the future of a project that Government records continue to value at more than TT$219 million.