Students being served ‘shine rice’ at Region Seven dorm

Jun 06, 2022 News

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– Manickchand orders probe as teacher says facility facing food shortage since October 2021

Kaieteur News – Food shortage at the D.C Caesar Fox Secondary School, Waramadong, Region Seven, has resulted in poor quality of food being served to the students in the dormitory.
As such, a teacher at the interior school has taken to Facebook to highlight the plight, in the hopes of the Ministry of Education (MOE) would intervene. And the post has indeed caught the attention of Minister of Education Priya Manickchand who in a statement on her facebook page said an investigation will be conducted into the allegations. “I have seen the posts about D.C Caeser Fox Secondary (Warmadong) and if any of it is true, it is not the service we intend, provide funding for or will tolerate.”

Manickchand added: “This school and indeed all schools in Region Seven fall under the direct management of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Seven which is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government whose two Ministers Nigel Dharamlall and Anand Persaud have been made aware of the allegations.”
“I myself will vigorously investigate this claim with a view to making sure the children there are catered to the way this Government intends: to have their best interests served. If this wasn’t true I will also let you know,” the minister stated.
For his part, Chairman of Region Seven, Kenneth Williams in a statement said: “the RDC notes with grave concern and deep anxiety the concerns raised in relation to our precious students at DC Fox Secondary, Waramadong, Upper Mazaruni. A sufficient and proper diet is not a negotiable issue. The effects of poor nutrition on a child have now been widely documented and universally accepted. A child, poorly fed is incapable of receiving a sound education. The supply issues facing this institution are not insurmountable and must be fixed now.”
Williams said the DC Fox School is critically important to education delivery in the region and has been producing children of excellence throughout the years. “Preliminary investigations indicate that many issues are affecting the smooth and consistent delivery of dietary supplies to DC Fox Secondary.
These Issues include: perennial supplies and contract issues that cause unacceptable delays in the timely delivery of fuel, meat and greens; a budgetary allocation that might be inadequate for the school-post Covid-19 e.g Returning students. Communication issues in relation to immediate and pressing issues at hand and timely responses to the issues.”
Williams said the entire Region must show “our collective support for the hard working teaching and auxiliary staff of DC FOX. They work with dedicated passion and care for the students without hesitation. Our students seek and need comprehensive, long term changes that will give them the assurance that they matter. Supplies are scheduled to be delivered today (Sunday) but the system has to be improved without reservations. Every Stakeholder-RDC, Administration and Department of Education must agree to collectively fix the issues now. No more blame games. No more excuses,” the Regional Chairman said.
Meanwhile, teacher, John Adams, who is currently holding the position of Senior Assistant Master (SAM) stated in his post that the students in the dormitory are being fed “shine rice” and that they are only given the privilege of eating meat one week per month. Adams questioned: “With $74.4 billion Guyana dollars budgeted for education delivery in this year’s budget we are confused by the conditions the teachers, students, cooks and other ancillary staff at D.C. Caesar Fox Secondary School in Waramadong Village, Upper Mazaruni, Region 7 are still going through.”

He stated that “plain rice/shine rice” has been the food being fed to the dormitory students at the school for lunch or dinner on a daily basis. The teacher had first highlighted the issue in a post on April 1, 2022. With a picture attached to his post, Adams highlighted that this has been the food being given to the students after one week in a month of having meat as part of the menu. According to him, since school reopened in October 2021, the food scarcity has been the problem at the dormitory. In that post he had stated too, that the food services supervisor at the school had explained to him that many food items that she request do not reach to the school.
Following his first post, he stated that a Community Development Officer, attached to the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Regional Councillors and other officials visited the school to find out if the information posted was true. Adams shared that a survey was conducted and it was revealed that the information was in fact true. The teacher disclosed that the students had related to the officials that they are unsatisfied with the conditions of the dormitory and kitchen.
According to Adams, the team had promised to look into the matter however, he stated no improvement has been made thus far.
In a post on Saturday, Adams said, “This week the cooks at the dormitory kitchen have been getting trouble in preparing good meals because there is shortage of food stuff. They had no option but to cook what is available in the kitchen.”
While speaking with Kaieteur News on Sunday, Adams said, “So far no education officer called me to find out if it’s true…” According to Adams, the Regional Executive Officer, and the Regional Education Officer know about the food issue at the school but nothing has been done. The teacher stated too that the food supplier has not been paid since February 2022, for the food stuff that was supplied to the school.
Moreover, Adams stated that another sore issue at the school is the shortage of diesel for the generator which supplies the school compound with electricity. “Last term there was no electricity for two months, February and March, due to mechanical problems. Now that the generator is working we expect electricity but there is no diesel or gasoline for the school to function as a learning institution,” the teacher added. According to him, it has been four days and nights since the school compound is in darkness and the officers in Kamarang have explained that they do not know when they will get fuel. Adams said, “Hon. Minister of Education I think it is time for you to intervene!”

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