Teachers at the St. Stephen’s Primary School in Charlestown are upset that ongoing rehabilitation work at the school is affecting the normal functioning of the institution.
This frustration peaked on Monday, when the teachers decided to hold a sit-in at the school premises. However, classes resumed on Tuesday despite several of their concerns not being adequately addressed.
Members of staff told this newspaper that the protest action was arranged to show disapproval at the conditions that both the teachers and students had to endure at the school.
A few of the teachers stated that the school was clearly re-opened before it was ready, and said that the construction work during school hours only distracted the students and put them at great risk of suffering injury. One teacher said that the floor still had nails piercing through, and identified this as a major hazard.
According to the teachers, on Monday they met with a senior officer at the Ministry of Education who made many promises but up to Tuesday none of these had been met. They said that the official had promised them that the planned construction of a shed at the front of the compound would be completed immediately and that the yard would be cleared of all debris. The teachers said that so far only the scaffold had been removed.
One teacher was also offended at the manner in which the members of staff were dealt with by the official from the Ministry, and said that the teachers were “as if they were little children.” The member of staff went on to give several examples of what was described as gross disrespect for the teachers.
However, this newspaper’s visit to the school on Tuesday did reveal some improvements from the previous occasions when it went to the school. Last week Stabroek News had highlighted the presence of a stairway missing a handrail but Tuesday’s visit revealed that the stairway had been repaired.
Meanwhile, when this newspaper visited the Smyth Street Nursery in response to a complaint by a parent, workmen were observed doing some land filling work. A senior official at that school said that while rehabilitation works on the site were continuing, this was being done with limited dislocation to the school. She said that she could not fault the Ministry of Education because they had helped the school in every way it could have.
She said that the Ministry clearly had the school’s welfare at heart even doing more than it was required. The teacher explained that on Monday night someone had attempted to steal the school’s water tank but through the efforts of the police, the tank was recovered. When the matter was reported to the Ministry of Education, it immediately made every effort to secure the tanks she added.
Over at the Stella Maris Primary School, another senior teacher, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper that the school is slowly returning to normal. She said that since the fiasco of last week Monday when several teachers and students turned out to school only to find it in a state of disarray, extensive efforts have been made to get the school in order.
She said that all the grass had been cleared and stated that land filling work was to commence soon. Some unfinished painting on sections of the school buildings has been completed as well. Additionally, Stabroek News was told that the electrical problems which the school experienced have been adequately dealt with. Last week, there were several exposed live wires in the washrooms as well as one which was sparking in one of the classrooms.
However, the need for screens to separate classrooms as well as a trestle to accommodate the water tanks in the school, were identified as other pressing needs, by the senior staff member.
