Latest update November 22nd, 2024 1:00 AM
Latest News
- Exxon wants new oil block on own terms
- Indian companies eye Guyana’s oil
- ICC issues arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu for ‘war crimes’ in Gaza
- Developing countries should not be curtailed in exploiting natural resources- PM Modi tells Parliament
- Jagdeo was sold expired soft drink at Marriott Hotel
Berbice Regional Chairman blasts contractors for “pussyfooting” with school furniture
With the reopening of Government Schools in Guyana yesterday, some East Berbice/Corentyne (Region Six) schools are yet to receive their full complement of furniture.
Regional Chairman, David Armogan
Regional Chairman, David Armogan, is convinced that the contractors “pussyfooted” in providing the furniture since the contracts were awarded to several suppliers three months prior to the commencement of the new academic year.
Armogan said that the three-month timeframe was enough for the contractors to deliver the furniture. He is still trying to ascertain what caused the delay.
Thus far, some schools including Port Mourant Secondary have only received 70 percent of the furniture. Armogan said that he has received word that the contractors will be delivering the balance of the furniture by the end of this week.
This furniture, he said, includes benches and desks for students, as well as furniture for teachers. The Chairman said that he foresaw this complication since Friday last, however not much could have been done to remedy the situation.
GET LICKS
“It’s not like you can go and buy these furniture at a shop. These are special furniture that have to be made. We had anticipated that the furniture would be delivered and the contractors failed to do so…They failed us. They have really faulted,” the Chairman lamented.
Asked if these contractors would have supplied the Region’s schools with furniture before, Armogan said, “Normally they supply every year, but I don’t know what happened to them this time around. We really get licks this time,”
Asked what measures will be taken in the future to avoid this, the Chairman said that measures will be put in place to deal with delinquent contractors. Armogan said that delinquent contractors not being awarded with these types of contracts in the future, will be one measure that will be set in place. The issue, he said, has placed strain on the education system in the region.
Meanwhile, the Chairman said that he is unaware of parents returning home with their children because of the lack of seating accommodation. However, he assured this publication that he would be looking into the matter.
An Education Ministry Official, who was contacted yesterday, said that the Ministry is also looking into the issue.
Previous reports would show that matters relating to the shortage of furniture in Region Six on the first day of the new Academic Year are nothing new. Back in 2011, students returning to school were welcomed with a furniture shortage, which had evolved into a controversy where one Education Ministry Official, was accused of “covering up” the matter after the media had cracked it wide open following numerous complaints by parents.
In 2012, there was a recurrence which was due mainly to wanton destruction coupled with the insufficient allocation of sums by the Ministry of Education to purchase furniture. The year 2013 was no different. An inspection by the Regional Administration had found that contractors had failed to deliver the required furniture on time which had resulted in hiccups at both the Primary and Secondary School level.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A false panacea for electoral integrity
…Peeping Tom kaieteur News – Advocates for fingerprint verification in Guyana’s elections herald it as... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
