Over 200 new students listed for President's College first form

Over 200 new students listed for President’s College first form

Aug 04, 2009 News

…figure twice as much as can be accommodated

More than 210 students have been accepted into the first form batch at President’s College for the new school year beginning September.
Yesterday, Kaieteur News was told that this number of students was accepted into the college despite a scaling down of employees at the institution.
A staff member said that this will certainly burden the system at the institution, since they cannot deal with such a large batch of students with the minimum staff that is on board.
“This is a backward move,” a staff member said yesterday.
When this newspaper contacted Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, he said that the figure is ‘totally incorrect.’
“It’s just over a hundred and something students were admitted. Whoever told you that the figure is over 200 is misleading you,” the Minister said.
However, a source confirmed that children with as little as 408 marks were admitted to the institution.
According to the source, two lists were submitted from Berbice, including students from both Regions Five and Six.
On that list about 70 children with 497 marks and more were accepted at the school.
The Region Four list consisted of about 50 children with 485 marks and more.
The hinterland list showed that about 50 children, some of whom had below 400, were accepted into the institution.
Another 50 children, the source confirmed, were accepted based on the accepted marks for qualification into the college.
“This means that over 50 students will be in a class,” the source noted, pointing out that it will be difficult for staff to deal with these students on an individual basis, thus hindering their performance.
In April last, this newspaper reported that about 30 persons on the auxiliary staff of Presidents College were slated to be transferred from the institution to the Ministry of Education in Georgetown, while others are expected to be asked to retire, due to their age.
Kaieteur News was told that the board of the college made the decision to cut costs at the institution, as the money from central government is not enough to maintain the school and the staff.
Later, a special task force was established at the instructions of Education Minister to investigate the happenings at the College and also to make recommendations to transfer more auxiliary staff and to ask some to retire.
This newspaper had reported that a finance committee meeting was held at President’s College on January 15, last, where the committee examined the recommendations of the task force to cut costs at the college.
Kaieteur News is in possession of the minutes of that meeting and the committee has since recommended that all staff would have to pay for meals except the principal, deputy principal, administrative manager, Medex, house parents and kitchen staff that would be entitled to meals while on duty.
Also, teachers living in staff houses would have to pay a monthly sum of $5,000 for electricity until meters are installed.
All allowances, responsibility, housing, travelling and honoraria would cease, except teachers’ duty allowance, acting allowance and motor car travelling allowance for the administrative manager, a standard entitlement fixed by the Public Service Ministry.

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Over 200 new students listed for President’s College first form

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