Teachers, students blocked from entering Berbice school by protesting parents

Members of McGowan Primary School’s Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) closed the school on Friday and stopped teachers from entering the building in protest over the state of the road.
According to the parents, the street leading to the school at Liverpool Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), has been under repair for months.
“It is years we are suffering. We cannot get a good school road for our children. The road is very bad and they start doing it since July and we are not accepting this road because some of the children have to ride to school. This road is very small… What happened to in front here and what happened to there, we need it to be done,” one parent said.
Parents also complained of bat infestation at the school.
“Schools just opened two weeks ago and look at their shoes. We need something to be done now and if not, we will lock down the school until somebody comes to talk to us.”
The parents vowed that they were not going to allow anyone to enter the building.
“This is another school year; we have been promised over and over that we are going to have a new road and there is nothing being done for us. Children are suffering at McGowan Primary School. We need proper facilities; the school needs to be repaired. No road, no school, we are not allowing the teachers to school to teach; we the PTA are not allowing them, it is overbearing for us,” another parent said.
Noting that there are other schools in the neighbourhood including Manchester Primary and Winfred Gaskin Secondary, the parents pointed out that the roads leading to those schools are properly maintained.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) Narindra Persaud subsequently met with the aggrieved parents and committed to having the school’s road fully repaired by November 1.
The project is being undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works. Persaud explained that the stipulated time for the completion of the project is November 1, and the contractor has not gone beyond the time allotted to have the work completed.
The contractor has since indicated that the next phase is to apply bitumen to the road’s surface. Following a discussion with the REO and the PTA, that process is expected to be completed over the weekend.