Latest update December 4th, 2024 2:40 AM
Friendship residents bemoan quality of education
Friendship Primary School
The Ministry of Education, as part of its mandate, is ‘supposed’ to make free and quality education accessible to ‘all’ Guyanese. Nevertheless, residents of the Friendship community, Lower Pomeroon are claiming that this mandate is not being fulfilled in their small farming community.
A recent meeting with residents of Friendship earlier this week, revealed that many are grossly disappointed in the quality of education being offered at the Friendship Primary school. The Friendship Primary School, which is located some 20 miles north of Charity, falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education, Region Two [Pomeroon/Supenaam].
Parents within the community are claiming that the school is tremendously understaffed; there are even times when just one teacher will be present for the day.
One frustrated parent added, “From what we understand, the school got a head mistress and two other teachers with about 60 children. Still when we checking these children book is only a few page work… I didn’t send my child to school yesterday because all they saying is that they watching some game on some phone…I say I gon can’t send them school if that is the case.”
Parents are also claiming that there are some instances, where no teacher would be present at the Primary School for the entire day. Even if a teacher is present, they noted, the quality of work is very poor.
As one mother went on to explain, “I does always check the books when my son come home, sometimes the teacher then hardly mark the books… some write and then some don’t write… They giving the children homework as well and that is a problem.
“Sometimes me son come home saying he got home work, when me buss me head fo do deh homework, next day no homework ain’t mark. The situation get real discouraging now.”
According to reports, parents in the past requested that the Department of Education take actions to curb the situation. Parents are claiming, however, that no additional staff was deployed to the Primary School.
The Regional Chairman of Region Two, Devenand Ramdatt, during a recent Press Conference said that he was recently made aware of the situation. After communicating with the Department of Education on the issue, Ramdatt was informed that four teachers were deployed to the Friendship Primary.
The Regional Chairman added, “The Regional Education Officer indicated that there are four teachers assigned to the school. If these communities are to develop then we have to invest in our children’s education. I believe that teachers who complete training need to go back to the schools to which they were assigned.”
Ramdatt said that the RDC would continue to engage the Department of Education on the issue.
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