Latest update December 16th, 2024 9:00 AM
Irate parents detest conditions at Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary
Protest action may be the likely course of action if the Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary school is to return to normal operation. At least this is the belief of several parents of students attending the institution.
The school void of students yesterday
Although the school year commenced last month with much vibrancy within the public education system and many calls for sustained support to be directed to the delivery of education, this has not been the case at Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary, according to the parents. No classes have been held there during this week and the parents disclosed that they are prepared to act in a meaningful way in order to ensure that their children are not deprived academically.
According to the parents, they are planning to picket both the school and the Regional Office today and onwards until the environment at the school returns to some level of normalcy.
It was revealed to this newspaper that for at least two weeks out of last month there were no sessions at the school, a state of affairs, which continued this week.
Reports are that the school compound had become inundated due to the effects of recent spring tides and though the water had receded, the school compound, up to yesterday, remained in an unhygienic condition due to the fact that the flood waters would submerge pit latrines as well as a nearby burial ground.
In recognition of the problem, officials at the Regional Education Department had taken a decision to have some classes be alternatively accommodated, dedicating a section of the Regional Department building for this purpose. Classes would continue at the school some two weeks later, but not without some concerns being raised by both parents and teachers about the condition of the school’s compound and sections of the bottom flat due to the flood situation.
The state of affairs was further compounded when the effect of the spring tides was felt again last week, leaving the surroundings in a dire state.
The school, which comprises two buildings, has a staff of approximately 30 teachers and a student complement of close to 700.
A visit to the school yesterday revealed empty classrooms and a rubble-filled and slushy compound, all representing after effects of flooding. Several teachers could be seen around the school building but with nothing to do, as there were no students on site to teach. The teachers, though reluctant to comment on the issue in detail, indicated that they are willing to teach, regardless of the condition of the school, even revealing that they are simply awaiting the Regional Department to facilitate the cleaning of the compound.
Several parents outside the Regional Education Department
Kaieteur News understands that a man was sent to the school yesterday to spray the compound as part of the preparation for the resumption of operations. However, reports are that the individual had not undertaken his task up to mid afternoon yesterday, reportedly due to the disappearance of a cutlass, leaving parents, who had by then gathered at the Regional Department office, to question the urgency of making the school useable.
It is believed that the move to have the situation remedied was prompted by a visit to the school on Wednesday by Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh. Reports are that Regional officials were channelled into action following the minister’s visit. Repeated efforts yesterday to contact Regional Education Officer – Region Three, Ms Cheryl Chase, to comment on the state of affairs, proved futile.
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