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CCNTV6
  • 4 months ago
Parents of the Rousillac Primary Hindu School are calling on the Ministry of Education to immediately close it, due to a rat infestation.

Students have for over a decade been housed at the Rousillac Community Centre after a fire destroyed the original building.

So compounded by a lack of space and other conditions, they’re frustrated to be faced with an additional problem. Reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh met with parents this morning and tells us more.

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Transcript
00:00Shut down the school and eradicate the rats.
00:04Shut down the school and eradicate the rats.
00:07Rats and the fear of the deadly leptospirosis disease it potentially transmits
00:12is the reason parents of the Rosalak Hindu Primary School were up in arms on Friday.
00:18This morning, the Ministry of Health was here.
00:20This morning, I took pictures of rat droppings in the school.
00:23But still, students have been allowed to come here.
00:26Well, they wake up now.
00:26If we had a fire going on in the school, they need to get permission from this one and that one.
00:30To close down the school, we have a fire going on here right now.
00:33This is a fire that all they cannot see.
00:35Since the start of the new school term, parents say rat droppings are seen daily across the compound.
00:41And so, most parents have resorted to keeping their children at home.
00:46On Friday, we were told less than 10 pupils of the 170 enrolled stayed for classes.
00:53Preschoolers now stepping in here in the first year.
00:56They wouldn't know the difference, right?
00:59They wouldn't know the difference.
01:01Let's say they snuck on the ground and they pick it up and put it in their mouth.
01:04By chance, right, something happens.
01:07Who's going to take that responsibility?
01:09My son told me on Wednesday of the first week of school opening, he said he saw a rat to the back by the tank there.
01:16And it was probably about the size, so our kids' lives are at risk.
01:21Rats are a very poisonous thing.
01:23They could scratch you, they could touch where they were and you'll get sick from it.
01:27So that's why we chose to keep our kids home.
01:30This is our children's life.
01:31This is not a flu that's going to go away if my child catches enough.
01:35This is life and death.
01:37They're calling on the ministries of education and health to intervene and find a solution.
01:43To the minister of education, he needs to get his facts correct when it comes to the openings of the school
01:49and put it on the media that the schools are safe for the kids when it is not safe for the kids.
01:54This is not fair for our children.
01:58What we are calling for this morning is for the ministry of health and education to step in
02:03and shut the school down and deal with this problem as soon as possible.
02:09Students who attend the Rosalak Hindu Primary School do so in the Rosalak Community Center.
02:15For over 10 years, they've suffered through cramped conditions and inadequate washroom facilities.
02:21And now this.
02:22While the minister of education did not respond to our questions,
02:26the situation was raised as an urgent question by the opposition during Friday afternoon's sitting of parliament.
02:34Minister Michael Dowlat in response to MP Marvin Gonzalez said,
02:38the ministry of education verified the presence of rats.
02:42And while the Separia Borough Corporation previously did a baiting exercise,
02:47he ordered the school's temporary closure today.
02:50The ministry is working in collaboration with the ministry of health,
02:54the Separia Regional Corporation, and other relevant stakeholders
02:58to ensure the exercise is thorough and the facility is made safe before classes resume.
03:06Mr. Speaker, this action is consistent with the ministry's duty of care
03:10to safeguard the well-being of children, teachers, and staff.
03:13It is expected that once the sanitization and treatment exercise is completed,
03:20classes will resume in the shortest possible time,
03:23thereby minimizing disruption to students' learning.
03:26The ministry will continue to monitor the situation closely
03:29and take every step necessary to ensure that schools across Trina and Tobago
03:36remain safe and conducive environments for teaching and learning.
03:39It is expected that once the sanitization and treatment exercise is completed,
03:50classes will resume in the shortest possible time,
03:54thereby minimizing disruption to students' learning.
03:56Cindy Raghuban, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
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