The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said yesterday repairs at T A Thompson Junior High School will be completed in time for the start of school on August 29.

“Our contractors have assured us come the 29th of August they will be in the classroom,” Mrs Hanna Martin said.

Ishmel Smith Jr, acting Principal of T A Thompson, added that the construction team is “literally” working around the clock so that everyone can return to the campus in the Fall.

“They even have a night shift and we’ve made the school available to them to be able to do what they have to do as long as they are there,” Mr Smith said,

The construction team is also getting ready to finish the structural work for one of the school buildings in need of considerable repairs.

“They have made considerable progress, I think we have a three-story building where they are doing most of the work. They have poured and re-set the aprons of the first and second floor. They are getting ready to finish the structure work or go up to the ceiling and they are in each of the classrooms that may have received any damage or needed repairs,” he said.

The minister agreed, adding: “They understand that these young people have been disrupted for an extended period of time, were virtual for a time and were at UB and they have worked as you’ve heard extraordinarily well,” she said.

Last school year, the need for repairs at T A Thompson resulted in students spending the last term of school at the University of The Bahamas.

In January, the majority of teachers at the school staged a sit out over inadequate working conditions.

As the issues were projected to take some time to address, the school reverted to a fully virtual programme until a complete resolution was found, according to assistant shop steward with the Bahamas Union of Teachers, Jon Montpetit.

He told The Tribune at the time that there were serious structural issues at the school’s main education block and the alternative was to work from another structure at the school.

However, that building only had one bathroom, which was not suitable for 200 children and teachers to use.

Additionally, some of the classrooms did not have proper ventilation and a few teachers had mobility issues that prevented them from walking between three floors.