Ituni parents continue protest, school remains closed
Deplorable conditions
Parents of students who attend the Ituni Primary School in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) continued their protest action against the deplorable conditions at the school on Tuesday, as the school continues to remain closed. The protest, which began on Monday, was fuelled by a number of issues which ranged from
One of the staircases which was barred
malfunctioning and limited washroom facilities, to lack of potable water and faulty infrastructure. During the protest, protestors padlocked the gate of the school, vowing not to send their children back to the institution unless the issues are dealt with. The padlock was however removed by the Police and the gate and doors to the school were then reopened, despite students being absent. Police informed the protestors that they should not lock Government’s property and as such the lock was removed and the Head teacher then proceeded to open the school’s doors.
A parent and member of the school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Kim Edwards, told Guyana Times that an official of the Regional Department of Education had made a promise on Monday that contractors would visit the school with materials to conduct the repairs the following day – Tuesday – however, she noted that nobody came as was promised.
“Nothing of the sort. We went there protesting all day and nobody went. We were planning to go straight down to Georgetown. Get a good amount of parents and go to Georgetown and protest. We’re not sending our children to school until we see something done and we can’t send them to school while the construction is being done. If they plan to block a section and tell us to send the children to school, we can’t do that. We can’t do that, at all,” she reiterated. Parents also expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged behaviour of a representative of the Region’s Department of Education. According to Edwards, the representative visited the school to conduct an assessment of the repairs; however, they failed to consult with parents and teachers following the assessment.
“After she finished, she just jump in she vehicle and gone. A lot of Grade Six parents were out there. People were very angry. Our only concern is for our children’s safety,” she said.
Parents have planned to continue with daily protest action until they see results. As such, another protest is scheduled to take place today.
On Monday, protesting parents noted that their requests for an upgrade of the school’s sanitary block have gone unanswered for years, as they pointed out that currently, only one toilet is functional and it serves both male and female students. Additionally, it was noted that the school’s corridors were in a deplorable state and only one of the school’s staircases is good enough for use. Edwards stated that officials visited the school once and had advised them to block off the school’s problematic staircase, which had been done; however, she noted that the pressure remained for repairs to be done to the remaining staircases. Sections of the building are presently falling apart, making it unsafe for students.
Parents also noted that although officials from the Education Ministry and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) are aware of the situation, the issues remained unaddressed.
The parents are more so concerned that students who have to sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations would be affected by the situation.
Recently, Councillors within the region had highlighted the deplorable conditions which were unearthed during a visit to several schools in riverine areas in Region 10. Regional Chairman Renis Morian, during a RDC meeting last week, presented a document titled “Year of Results-based Management”, which includes plans for the region’s education sector, among other areas for 2017. The document outlined plans to be facilitated in collaboration with the Education Department for the upgrading of schools and compounds, the establishing of a working relationship with schools’ PTAs and the monitoring of education delivery in the region.
