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President’s College PTA lambastes school Board
A section of the President’s College building which is in a deplorable condition.
Yesterday the Board that manages President’s College came in for strong criticisms from some members of the Parent Teacher Association.
According to a member of the PTA, Janet White, the body learnt that the school board would have been meeting yesterday. Hence the PTA decided to stage a protest with the aim of raising several matters of concern that affect the school as well as the students.
But yesterday there was not much support for the protest hence the meeting with the board went on peacefully. At the school yesterday there was a vehicle with police ranks, one of whom sought to enquire from a PTA member who placed a lock on the gate.
The police were told that it is a norm for persons to lock the gate since it is a preventative measure to keep animals out of the yard.
This publication was told that the PTA body has been trying to get the School board dissolved since in their minds the board is ‘running the school to the ground’.
Mrs. White said that the board is being headed by Mr. David De Groot, whom they consider a dictator. According to White, the PTA has no voice; they are not being allowed to function in the way they should.
Mrs. White pointed to the fact that the school and its environs are in a deplorable state and nothing is being done to develop the surroundings or the building.
This publication was told that the canteen has been condemned by the Ministry of Education because it poses a threat to life and limb. Despite this the Board has found it fit to advertise it for rental. There are also reports that the Board will and may have already advertised for the position of Principal.
“The current Acting Head teacher has been in that position for several years but yet they decide to advertise the position. That is a slap in everybody’s face; the current head is the best person for the position.”
Parents say that they would rather the Head teacher and her staff take control of the school since they are the ones on the ground and know about the daily operations and what is needed.
Parents complained that the school had started an initiative where they would offer one hot meal to students of the school who are not living in but they were ordered by the board to stop.
“This was a good we were doing. Every single initiative which was once vibrant and beneficial has been stopped.”
One parent recalled the days when the school was self-sustained and was considered the bread basket of the community.
“This school had 15 fish ponds and at one point had two stalls at the market selling eggs, pork and chicken. Today this school has nothing to maintain itself.”
Reference was also made to the state of the washroom facilities and the condition of the dormitories.
“The toilets are falling apart; children are being injured in the bathrooms as the tiling is falling apart, the toilets are leaking and the place is filthy and smelly.”
The PTA is also not satisfied that money allocated for the school’s development is being used in the way it should be.
When this publication visited the school which was once touted as the country’s best secondary facility, the playfield was overgrown and the pavilion was in a deplorable state. Coming from the dormitories was a pungent scent believed to be sewage water.
There were animals grazing in the schools compound. The head teacher of the school declined to comment.
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