Pomeroon River schools in dire need of maintenance – coalition Councillor

Even as schools throughout Guyana reopened their doors since the beginning of September, children, particularly those attending primary and nursery schools along the Pomeroon River in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam), have to face much inconvenience since their schools were not properly rehabilitated during the July/August vacation.
Children from Hackney, Malbrough and Akawini in the Lower Pomeroon are presently forced to utilise residents’ washrooms owing to the lack of proper washroom facilities at the Government schools.
According to coalition Councillor Julian Cummings, both the primary and nursery schools’ roofs in Malbrough are leaking. Cummings related that several parents from the Pomeroon areas have complained about the issues affecting their children. As such, he called for the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to intervene in helping to fix the schools in the areas and for the Department of Education staff to be more visible, observing that most of the schools have issues, but none were ever reported. On that note, he called for Education Officers to conduct more field visits and to serve in the best interest of the children.
In responding, acting Regional Chairperson Nandranie Coonjah said that a team should visit the areas and access the situation. She said that having an education was important and children must be given a conducive environment to learn. She also instructed Councillor Cummings to be part of the team for the visit.
Clerk of the RDC, Regional Executive Officer (REO) Rupert Hopkinson said that no ranger or overseer reported the matter to him. He said he, however, knew that some works were conducted on schools in the Pomeroon during the summer vacation, particularly plumbing. He then promised to follow up on the issue.