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Education Minister to meet Friday with protesting parents at Parika
Education Minister Priya Manickchand is set to meet parents of the Parika-Salem Primary School on Friday after protests continued at that Region Three facility yesterday.
Parents and students blocking the gates again yesterday at the Parika-Salem Primary School.
According to Alethea Baird, President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), an education official who visited the school yesterday said that the Minister was prepared to meet with executives of the body to hear their complaints.
On Monday, parents locked the gates in protest of conditions, citing overcrowding and other health threats.
Regional education officials who arrived to meet with parents refused to allow Jaipaul Sharma, a Member of Parliament for A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), to stay. That led to parents walking out of the meeting saying that the representative had a legitimate right to be present.
Among other things, parents are complaining about the fact that the primary school was overcrowded with bat droppings falling on students during classes. Flooding and leaks were also among the concerns raised.
The parents claimed that a new secondary school was built within the compound without consultation with them, leading to more overcrowding. Toilets for both teachers and students were in a mess with the compound not conducive for learning, Kaieteur News was told.
Yesterday, the parents again locked the gates, before police were called in and an agreement was reached for Friday’s meeting.
The protests at Parika follow one from last week at another West Bank Demerara school, the new La Parfaite Harmonie Primary School, which suffered fire damage in March this year. Parents there also locked the gates complaining of conditions.
In both cases, parents said that despite raised issues with the regional education officials on occasions, it all fell on deaf ears.
Under the education system, at the district level, the Ministry of Local Government is responsible for the schools, while the Ministry of Education is charged with the wider policies on the national level.
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