Africanised bees have taken up residence in the headteacher’s quarters at Abary Primary School, putting the lives of teaching staff and students at risk.
A close-up shot of the bees at the school
On Wednesday, some parents contacted Guyana Times over the situation, which they say has been in existence for more than a year.
Back in 2015 when the previous school year started, the bees were found and the situation was reported to regional authorities. However, since then no official from the Department of Education in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) has visited the school, situated up the Abary River and is considered one of the remote schools in the region.
One parent, Ramchand Ramnarine has decided not to send his children to school since the new school term started for fear of harm from the bees which live just next to the school.
“We report several times to the Regional Educational Department and the Regional Chairman and a couple weeks before school open we went to meet the REO (Regional Educational Officer) and when he understand we were there to see him, he get away. He didn’t want to speak to us.”
According to Ramnarine, they first reported the dangerous situation in September 2015 and three other times before school year ended, then again shortly before schools reopened on Monday. He noted that on the last occasion, they reported the issue directly to the Regional Chairman.
Meanwhile, a teacher Vanita Sukdeo says the bees in the headteacher’s quarters have prevented the school from having children involved in every aspect of the curriculum.
“They cannot do any outdoor activity, so when they get their little recreation outside they can’t do that; they can’t even run, play or speak hard in the school because the noise will affect the bees and it is very dangerous for the children,” the concerned teacher related.
Another teacher explained that they have also reported to regional officials about the need to look at the physical structure as well. She also mentioned the lack of the school boat service: “The Ministry of Education gave us a boat for the children to come to school but within a year the engine broke and we haven’t got any information about the boat and it is very difficult for the children to walk this long distance to get to school, and when they get to school they are so tired to commence their work.”
In addition, when the parents took their concerns to the Regional Education Officer Owen Pollard last year, they also mentioned that the boat experiencing engine problems.
According to the concerned parents, they were told then that the department did not have funds to repair the engine. They say they also provided a quotation for the repair which amounted to $200,000.
Parents also claimed that during the rainy season, children would arrive at school and have to take a bath and change into fresh clothing before going to classrooms.
In an invited comment, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal told this newspaper that the parents met with him in August, informing him that they were not getting any assistance from the Education Department.
Ramphal said he has since contacted the Regional Executive Officer, Ovid Morrison and related the concerns of the Abary residents.
According to the Regional Chairman, on Monday he was told by Pollard that the department experienced no major problems as the new school year opened except for a few schools with a furniture shortage, suggesting that the Abary Primary had already been fixed.
