Situation at New Amsterdam Secondary School

Dear Editor,

It is with great concern that this letter is penned to highlight a few issues damaging to what was once the top secondary school in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

The New Amsterdam Secondary School has now become a household name that brings distaste to the mouth and minds of parents, students, ex-student, the community and even teachers.

One issue that is destroying this wonderful institution is the relationship between the Headmaster and deputy Headmistress. They cannot find level ground to work together. Decisions made by the Headmaster, Board of Governors and even the Education Ministry’s Region Six branch are ‘thrown out’ by the Deputy Headmistress which leads to chaos and confusion throughout the school term. The relationship between the Deputy Headmistress and other teachers can be described as malicious. Teachers are now unhappy, uncomfortable, demotivated and disgust working in these conditions.

This highlights the second issue; the high rate of student transfer out of the school to schools lower than the present school. This is not only happening because of the issue highlighted but because the Deputy Headmistress shows favouritism among students and staff, and even among parents. The next reason for the high transfer rate is the amount of money solicited from students by the DHM on a regular basis. Lastly, there is no financial accountability in no aspect/projects of the school activity in and out of the region. We are pleading with the relevant authorities to fix this situation before only a shell of the school remains.

Yours sincerely,

Patricia Gomes, Shane Williams, Gregory Smith

(Concerned parents and associates)