Last Wednesday, parents effectively shut down Golden Grove Primary on the East Coast as well as Bagotville Primary on the West Bank over lack of water in the schools, among other things.
One would have thought that it might have occurred to the movers and shakers in the two regional administrations concerned, that water for school washrooms was an absolute priority, but apparently for some reason that did not cross their minds. As it was, the head of the PTA for Golden Grove told our reporter that they had been waiting five weeks for a new pump, since the old one was beyond repair. No one (except the authorities, perhaps) would therefore be surprised to learn that the washrooms were filthy, and anyone who could not avoid using them was obliged to fetch a bucket of water from a trench. The Regional Education Officer in his wisdom instituted double sessions at the school because of the water problem, although one might have thought that lighting a fire (metaphorically speaking) under the Regional Executive Officer to urgently source a pump might have been a more appropriate course of action.
The REdO also told SN he was unaware that the students and teachers had to fetch water from a trench, and that the school had access to standpipes. All that can be said about this is that some of the regional education officers do not appear to be all that familiar with the facilities – or rather the lack of them – in the schools under their purview. We reported on Friday that a pump had been bought and installed at Golden Grove, and that once it was operational (there was a black-out that day) the pupils would return and the school would revert to normal working hours. It might be mentioned, however, that the first pump brought by the officials was too small for the purpose – further evidence it seems of a lack of information if not of a very cavalier approach to purchasing equipment.
Bagotville too suffers from a lack of water and non-functioning washrooms, which we were told had not been operational since last term. In this case, however, there was an added danger since children sometimes had to go for water from a small reservoir opposite the school, which necessitated them crossing the busy public road. What is the matter with the regional officials that they consider this situation acceptable? But in this school there were other challenges as well. One of these was the state of the compound, and parents informed this newspaper that snakes had been found in it. That, it seems, was not the only hazard which the yard presented, since apparently a psychologically disturbed man spends his time there, and had indecently exposed himself to the children.
The demonstration by the parents appears to have galvanized the authorities into action – at least where the yard is concerned – since on Friday we reported that the Neighbourhood Democratic Council had weeded the bushes at the back of the compound, removed the vines along the fence and cleaned the trench in front. In addition, a plumber had visited the school to assess the work which would be necessary to put the washrooms back into commission, and according to our report, it was anticipated that this exercise might start this week.
The Bagotville parents had another serious grouse, however, and this was the fact that too little teaching went on in the school, and sometimes their children were left altogether unsupervised. They told our reporter that there were times when the children had been left with the cleaner, who nevertheless did her best to keep them quiet until a teacher came. There were two teachers in addition to the headmistress, we were given to understand, one of whom was often absent because she went to classes at UG. The headmistress it was alleged, was away in the afternoon because of work she had to do at the regional administration.
The sequel to this – which we reported on Friday – was that Ministry of Education officials visited the school and gave the assurance that a new teacher would be sent there tomorrow. But that was not all: the current headmistress was given a letter by the officials informing her of her removal from Bagotville because of her alleged lack of performance. Whatever the rights and wrongs of her particular case and whether or not she was given a hearing to answer the charges, at least it goes to demonstrate that the authorities can move with dispatch when they want to.
On the same day that we first reported on Golden Grove and Bagotville we also carried a story on another school facing similar problems, this time in the North West. Port Kaituma Primary School has also been without an adequate water supply for months as a consequence of poor work by a contractor hired by the Region One administration. Parents complained to Stabroek News that appeals to both the contractor and regional officials had produced no response. When our reporter spoke to the Regional Chairman, he said he had no knowledge of the problem and would have to visit the area. Without going into details, the contractor did come and make one adjustment, but never finished the work.
The water problem has forced students and teachers to have recourse to pit latrines, conveniences (if such they can be called) which are not safe for young children and have unfortunate associations for schools in the North West. That apart, as parents have pointed out, the children have nowhere to wash their hands afterwards, and they are concerned about the hygienic implications.
This is a school which has various other problems as well, such as a dearth of furniture – children are sometimes forced to stand during classes, we reported – and the 23 classrooms are inadequate for the school population which is taught by 26 teachers, and which even then is an insufficient number. We were given to understand that a regional education official had said that 40 pairs of desks and benches would be sent to the school, but as of the time the report was written, these had not materialized.
What emerges from these stories is that regional education departments are not functioning anywhere near the level that they should, and where material inputs for the schools are concerned, neither are the larger regional administrations. The placement of teachers is not a matter which they have the power to address, but furniture, repairs, school compounds, and most of all the supply of water come well within the arc of their responsibilities.
Above all else, as said above, water is a priority, and a notice to that effect should be pinned on the office walls of regional officials in case they are tempted to forget it. The conditions described above which appeared in our various reports are a health hazard, and the last thing we need in this country is an epidemic which takes hold among the school population. It is a poor reflection on the regional administrations concerned that it took parent power to produce results for Golden Grove and Bagotville. Since that is what it takes, however, perhaps the parents of Port Kaituma Primary might take note.