In Brief
- Schools reopen amid concerns: While all schools opened for the 2026/2027 academic year, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) is warning of unresolved health and safety risks.
- Infrastructural issues: TTUTA President Crystal Asche highlighted numerous problems across various schools, including furniture shortages, bat infestations, defective water systems, and ongoing construction while students and staff are present.
- Specific schools affected: Asche noted that South East Port of Spain Government School faces a severe lack of teachers’ furniture, while Gloster Lodge Moravian School has outstanding electrical concerns following a recent fire.
- Late repairs: TTUTA criticised the late start to vacation repair projects, urging the Ministry of Education to proactively use its Schools Infrastructure and Management System (SIMS) to plan repairs well in advance.
- Call for collaboration: Emphasising that the union is not being antagonistic, Asche called for better communication with the Ministry of Education to ensure safe and conducive learning environments.
By Alicia Chamely
While all schools across the country reopened in time for the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) is highlighting a series of unresolved issues, including teacher shortages and ongoing construction, which pose health and safety risks.
In a WhatsApp message on Monday, TTUTA President Crystal Asche said TTUTA representatives visited various schools throughout the day, especially those where members had expressed concerns.
Asche said while TTUTA acknowledged work was done over the vacation period, there were still numerous issues affecting schools.
He said these included shortages of furniture for teachers and students, bat infestations, electrical concerns, defective water systems, and ongoing construction.
“In some cases, at some schools, teachers and students are being asked to return to the environment where work is still taking place. That is a health and safety issue,” he added.
Highlighting specific schools, he said, “At South East Port of Spain Government School, a severe shortage of teachers’ furniture remains. The principal has been requesting furniture since September 2025 and again raised the matter in July 2026.”
“At Gloster Lodge Moravian School, following an electrical fire, TTUTA was on the compound when MTS personnel from the Ministry of Education were at the school. However, affected areas remain exposed, with one class and its teacher relocated. There are concerns about electrical issues which resulted in a fire recently spreading to other parts of the school,” he said.
He said TTUTA was in no way being “antagonistic,” but was trying to ensure that the concerns of teachers and students were being heard and addressed.
Asche said TTUTA remained “concerned that many of the vacation repair projects commenced too late. Much of the information required to identify and prioritise these works should already have been available through the Ministry’s Schools Infrastructure and Management System (SIMS).”
He said, “TTUTA therefore encourages the Ministry to move beyond simply collecting data through SIMS and to use that information to make timely, informed decisions, particularly in planning school repairs well before the reopening of schools.”
Asche called for greater communication and collaboration between TTUTA and the Ministry of Education.
He said, “We need better communication and collaboration with the Ministry of Education. The information on schools’ infrastructure should already be captured on the SIMS, the Schools’ Infrastructural Management System that the Ministry has in place. This is used to make informed decisions in terms of getting repairs started early, so that they will not end up in this situation again.”
Asche said TTUTA would continue to monitor the situation and “advocate for safe, healthy and conducive teaching and learning environments for all.”
