Despite repeated objections from residents, City Mayor Alfred Mentor championed a proposal on Monday that will see the Mae’s School receiving permission to remain on the Farnum Community Ground in Subryanville up until December 2026, allowing the school an additional nine months outside of the original time frame.

The City Council, in the absence of consultations with residents, had granted permission to the owners of the school to erect tents on the Farnum Ground to accommodate students, after a devastating fire destroyed the nearby school building back in March. 

Without approval from the City Council, the school has been erecting prefab buildings on a section of the ground to accommodate the displaced students, angering residents of the community.

On Monday, during a meeting with residents of Subryanville, the proprietor of the school, David Sugrim and his lawyer, Manoj Narayan, along with the Mayor and Councilors apologized for not consulting residents on the Council’s earlier decision to grant permission to the Mae’s School to occupy a section of the ground.

The Mayor reminded that the school has long enjoyed use of the ground, adding that although the proprietor of the school did not seek earlier permission to erect the prefab buildings on the ground, in the interest of the children attending the school, the time frame for use of the section of the ground should be extended to December 2026.

Through his attorney, the owner of the Mae’s School requested permission to occupy the ground using the prefab structures, until March 2027, but the Mayor said December of 2026 is a good timeline.

“I would say from now, where we are at, September to the end of the year is 3 months, to March is 3 months, and I would say to the end of next year. So, if he was saying until the following March, we are saying to the end of December 2026 when we are going to have a new school term going into January he must be ready, and replace and remove everything from the ground,” the Mayor proposed.

Community Representative, Elizabeth Dean-Hughes registered the community’s concerns that the school was attempting to secure exclusive use of that section of the ground.

Dean-Hughes, who also accused both the Mayor and the owner of the school of using the children as “pawns,” also demanded to see the legal papers for the school to confirm its ownership.

She submitted that the construction of the prefab buildings should be halted until the legal documents for the school are provided, and the relevant applications to the authorities, including the City Council, are submitted.

“So, we would like, first of all, for the permit to be limited to what the building is right now, at this point in time. If you are going to give the permit, we will only allow it up to December of this year, and in the meantime, the fee paying students, the full profit, would find other accommodation, so that, we can have the ground back by next year. Because, we don’t even know who owns the school,” Dean-Hughes said.

Further, she expressed concern for the children’s safety.

“You are making these children a pawn because you are sending them into a school that is a construction site at the moment, against Ministry of Education certification, against the fire department certification. This is a fee paying school,” she said.

Offering clarity on the school’s ownership, Narayan explained that Sugrim purchased all rights to the school.

“Mr. Sugrim and his wife have bought, through a legal process, all the rights, title and interest, both in the land, and the buildings, and in the goodwill, that the name Mae’s School. They are now legally regarded as the owner,” the Attorney explained.

 He said while the Council had only granted permission for the school to set up tents on the ground, the prefab buildings were erected out of concern for the children’s health and safety during the rainy season, explaining further that the children were severely affected when it rained. The school has just under 2,000 children.

The Attorney said the intention is never to erect permanent structures.

 “The current structure that Mr. Sugrim is building, there are no permanent fixtures or fittings or erections on that ground, no piles are being driven unto the ground,. The ground itself would not be affected at the end of this process. What Mr. Sugrim has done,is to lay unto the ground, concrete piles upon which these prefab temporary structures are currently being built,” he explained.

The Attorney explained that the prefab two-storey buildings were designed in China, and as such, it would be difficult to adjust the design locally. He said within a week, the entire structure will be completed, and further assured that at the expiration of the approved time, the ground would return to its original state or even better.

Dean-Hughes, however, insisted that until the legal documents are provided, there should be no further work done, but the Mayor pleaded with her and the community to operate in good faith.

Sugrim has agreed to provide the legal documents, and is also expected to submit an application to the authorities for a permanent structure to be built on the land where the school once stood.

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