Graham’s Hall Primary overcrowded after some parents fake addresses

…Ministry now forced to use 3-tier verification

The Education Ministry is currently battling with the issue of overcrowding at the Graham’s Hall Primary School, after parents disingenuously produced a different address in order to get their children into the institution.
Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain updated on Friday that upon initial investigation, it was found that the school had an excess of 300 students more than its capacity. Along with the challenge of space, it presented a host of other problems such as inadequate washroom facilities.
“This is not healthy and most importantly, this is not safe…We discovered that the school had in excess of 300 students above its capacity. We had to look at every single student who was placed at the school from Grades One, Two and Three. We began by doing a second round of verification to ensure that the students are living within the catchment of that school,” Hussain pointed out.
By doing the verification, the Ministry uncovered some 140 students who were not living within the area. In one case, a student was travelling to the school all the way from Mahaicony. Parents were engaged and presented with three options: to accept a second location with teachers provided, a primary school closer to their actual home, or use a temporary arrangement at the school.

“We found students who were not living in the catchment, who in some cases, used very creative ways of being members of that catchment. We held several meetings with the parents and we offered the three options to the parents…Parents said they were not satisfied with the round of verification that we did and so we did a second round of verification.”
The CEO informed that about 40 students have since been registered to another location. The majority of parents opted for their children to remain at the school, and students are being taught in a separate arrangement.
In the new academic year, the Ministry will be employing three levels of verification before students are placed at Graham’s Hall Primary School.
Hussain also indicated, “The intake for Graham’s Hall will be less this year in an effort to reduce the number of students in classes…I wish to remind that the Ministry of Education does not have any rule that says your child has to be placed close to where you work. It’s a concession. If there is space, then this can be accommodated. If there is no space, then it cannot be accommodated.” (G12)