Baptist school open September with 240 pupils

Minister of Education Dr Tim Gopeesingh said on Friday the first phase of Trinidad & Tobago first Baptist school was completed at a cost of between $13 and $14 million and will accommodate 240 students.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar formally handed over the school Friday. She was education minister in the Panday administration when the sod was turned for the school.

The event was marred by the stench from a nearby chicken processing facility. The building is located on the southern side of the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway in Maloney near the Arawak chicken facilities. Gopeesingh promised to correct the problem in time for the opening of the school in September.

The minister said the second phase is estimated to cost $28 million and is earmarked for completion by mid-2013. When fully commissioned the school would have accommodation for 420 pupils.

Phase 2 will comprise music room, pan theatre, auditorium and playing field.

In her address the Prime Minister said her government is seeking to transform the education system to make it more relevant to the needs of the nation's children, the country "and the changing social dynamics of our times, without sacrificing sound religion, morals and ethics."