Safety of Corentyne primary school students a major concern

– as head teacher padlocks school’s entrance

The Acting head teacher of the Auchlyne Primary School on the Corentyne, in Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) Shireen Ali, has reportedly padlocked the back gate leading to the school’s compound and this has caused an

uproar from concerned students and regional officials.

The Secretary of the Central Corentyne Road Safety Council, Nandlall Manikchand, explained that many of the children attending the school do not have adequate road safety training and the move by Ali has forced the children from Letter Kenny, Auchlyne and Whim to use the Corentyne Highway to get to and from school. He added that by refusing access to the school compound from the back gate, the children are being placed at risk.

According to Manickchand, since the primary concern is the safety of the children, from Monday, the Council will be holding training sessions with some students of

that school in an effort to establish a school road safety patrol.

The former Police Officer is appealing with senior education officials in the region to place the safety of children first. Additionally, the Auchlyne Primary School students are not being allowed to take their bicycles into the school compound and many have reported that their cycles have been stolen.

According to reports, Ali made the decision two weeks ago to bar the cycles from the school compound, after she assumed her position as acting head teacher; the substantive head teacher is currently on sick leave.

The issues were discussed at the Regional Democratic Council’s meeting on Thursday, and Councilor Zaman Husain, who is the Chairman of the Regional Education Committee told the Council that the situation is worrying and urged Regional Chairman David Armogan to raise the matter with the Department of Education. “It is very serious because children are involved,” he said.