Former parliamentarian Gloria Bancroft on Friday sounded alarm bells over several issues affecting the two secondary schools in Region 8.
Bancroft told an APNU news conference that throughout the region, there is a shortage of trained teachers and she also complained of the amount of subjects that were being offered at these schools. “Throughout the region there is a lack of trained teachers in the schools and there are (few) subjects being offered at the secondary school level. Eight subjects are being offered at the Paramakatoi Secondary and six are being offered at the Mah-dia Secondary,” she said.
She pointed out that the Mahdia Secondary school has been without a head teacher for the past six months and this is affecting teachers who have to act in the capacity by dividing their time between teaching classes and carrying out administrative work.
In an invited comment, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam told this newspaper that the Ministry is in the process of advertising for the position to be filled.
According to the former MP, in sub region 1, exercise books are not being distributed to satellite villages in a timely manner, since they cannot be transported in bulk using ATVs. Instead, they are being taken to Kato.
She stated that several computers were delivered to the Mahdia Secondary for the purpose of incorporating information technology into the school’s curriculum but these computers “remain sitting in the region’s education office because the school has no IT lab.”
Bancroft asserted that the Education Ministry is well aware of these issues plaguing the schools. “At the RDC [Regional Democratic Council], normally these things are being reported through the RDC by the regional chairman, whatever happens in the education department, the REO is well aware,” she asserted.
Opposition Leader David Granger told media operatives that MP Amna Ally, Shadow Minister for Education, has had periodic consultations with the Education Minister and he was sure the issues had been raised. “I am confident that some of these issues have been brought out. Many of these issues are in the media and have been in the media for some time. She must be aware of them. I think you can be satisfied that the Minister is well aware of many of these complaints,” he stated.
Bancroft also argued that because the Parama-katoi Secondary is overcrowded, students sometimes have to sleep in the hallways. Sam, however, dismissed these claims as “absurd” and said that only recently a dorm was built at the school, so there is no issue of overpopulation.
Bancroft added that the students are forced to fetch water from the well because there is no running water in the dormitories.
Granger also said that substance abuse is still prevalent in the Region even after 26 students were expelled in 2011 for marijuana use.
