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Works & Engineering Minister David Burch has failed to keep his pledge that the completed senior school would be handed over to the Ministry of Education and subsequently the school's Board of Trustees at the start of the year.

Yesterday both Government and Board of Trustees chairman Calvin White remained coy when asked for a progress report on the building programme.

But the understands that the Ministry of Works & Engineering is still carrying out work on site, despite assurances that the completed school would be handed over to the Board at the beginning of the year.

In November Minister Burch hit back at claims that the heavily delayed and massively over-budget project ? initially set for completion in September 2003 ? would not meet a revised January 2006 deadline.

He said that, with the exception of the new gym, "80 per cent of the school has been handed over and outfitting of the facility is well advanced".

But when asked this week if the handover had now been completed, a Government spokesman, speaking on behalf of the Ministry, said: "When the Minister of Works & Engineering is willing to make a statement, you will be advised accordingly."

And yesterday Mr. White appeared equally confused about the pending handover.

He initially said that he had heard nothing from Government as to when the handover would be made.

"We haven't had any updates ? I am not aware as to when it's going to be handed over," he said.

But he went on to say that the Board had been in continual contact with Government in recent weeks.

"We are in talks with them and looking to work with them," he said.

When pushed on why, if that was the case, he was unaware of the handover schedule, Mr. White said: "I really don't want to make any more comments."

The Board has already stated that it will need three months to get the school student-ready once the handover by Government has been made. But yesterday Mr. White refused to be drawn when asked if he now thought it inevitable that the school will not open until the start of the next academic year in September.

"I am not prepared to comment on that," he said.

Last night Shadow Works & Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin condemned what she described as "the arrogance of the Minister".

"It is apparent that once again the Progressive Labour Party Government has failed to meet its own six-times revised deadline of early January 2006," Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said.

"The concern is the arrogance of the Minister for failing to address the issue publicly, but rather choosing to hide behind Ministerial privilege in saying to the public, by his actions, 'We haven't finished the project, we don't care what we told you we would do, we just didn't do it, and you have to accept it'.

"It's not surprising that the chairman of the Board of Trustees is unclear of the position of the Ministry of Education with respect to handing over the school. After all, he was the one who dared agree with the Opposition's position that the school should not be occupied on a piecemeal basis with the ensuing possibility of injury to any student on a live construction site.

"That adversarial position would hardly ingratiate him in the inner sanctum of knowledge of the plan, and so, while attempting to cover for the Government in stating that they are working together, the lack of definitive information from one who ought to be integral to the process is glaring.

"Once again, the public should be demanding a higher standard of accountability and not be prepared to accept the lowest common denominator that the PLP would shove down our throats."