Hundreds of students remain in limbo as no remedial work at the Kato Secondary School has started, an official at the Education Ministry disclosed on Monday.
Kato Secondary School
Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson had stated that an audit report into the school, which pinpointed several defects in its construction, was sent to the Chambers of the Attorney General for an investigation to be conducted.
But to date, Attorney General Basil Williams is yet to indicate what has become of the contractor who carried out the “shoddy work”, and whether he would be held accountable.
However, an official at the Ministry has disclosed that the matter was yet to be thrashed out, even though the 400-plus students of the school were crammed into another school, which was already overcrowded.
“No decisions have been made as yet,” the official said. Although Kares Engineering, the firm which constructed the school, has indicated its willingness to remedy the faults on the school, Patterson stated that given the fact it was under investigation, the firm would not be awarded the contract to fix the deficiencies.
He had asserted that the company was given many opportunities to correct its poor work, but did not.
The school, which was built at a cost of $728.1 million, has glaring evidence of poor construction: cracked walls and flooring, termite infested wood and cheap materials being used to build rooms.
However, Kares Engineering said the school was built to “rigid specifications”.
Also, although Patterson has placed the extremely defective school high on the Government’s agenda for projects to be completed, discussions have just started.
There has been no advertisement for bidding for the remedial works on the school, which could cost the Government another $140 million.
