Residents of Manawarin in the Barima-Waini region are calling for urgent help in solving the problem of student absenteeism at the St Nicholas Primary School in the village, the Government Information Agency said yesterday.
Residents blamed the situation on transportation problems caused by the fact that more than 90 percent of the school’s students travel by river from three points which are five to nine miles away from the school.
This translates to paddling for over two to three hours in the dry weather. In the rainy season, most if not all of the students do not go to school, GINA reported.
Residents urged Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Norman Whittaker to take urgent measures, GINA said.
Manarwarin was among six communities visited over the weekend by Whittaker. He promised to bring the transportation matter to the attention of Cabinet. He also told residents that under the education delivery capital projects for 2013, Manawarin is among three communities that will benefit from $1M each for dug-out canoes and 15hps engines to transport students.
The other villages that will also benefit from this intervention are Santa Cruz and Warapoka. Manawarin residents also called for immediate repairs to their health building, a provision that GINA said is also covered under the region’s 2013 budget of $2.5M.
Residents of Haimacabra also called for a Nursery School for the village, GINA reported. Whittaker promised that this could be provided if there are enough children of nursery school age in the village, resources to build the facility and to furnish the building and staff to conduct the classes.
Under the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ budget, communities such as Warapoka will be supplied with $1.5M through the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) as a grant for the construction of a hotel kitchen. A tractor costing $8.8M will also be purchased for Manawarin
