Over the past school term, all the classes at the De Veldt Nursery and Primary schools, located in the Berbice River and made up of a total of nearly 60 students and representing eight class levels between them, have been taught by only two teachers. This is according to a report by Laxley Lindie, De Veldt’s Community Representative as well as complaints from parents of the students.
Of the 57 students, 19 of them attend the school at the nursery level, while eight students make up the Grade Six class. The eight classes—Nursery one and two and Grades 1 through 6—are split evenly between the two teachers, who are forced to divide their time among the classes from day to day.
It was related by a parent that the nursery teacher takes on the responsibility for Nursery 1 and 2 as well as grades 3 and 4, while the school’s headmistress is in charge of grade levels 1 and 2 and 5 and 6.
Stabroek News was told that previously there were four teachers, but as of September of last year, two of them left to further their studies. Since then, the shortage was reportedly raised several times with representatives at Region 10’s Regional Education Office and while it was promised that teachers would be sent, this promise is yet to be fulfilled.
Lindie, also the schools’ driver, related that up to Wednesday, a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting was held at the school and teachers from Kwakwani were scheduled to attend. Parents waited at the school until after 4pm but the teachers never made an appearance.
Having three children in attendance at the school, in grades 2, 4 and 6, one parent related that two of them are scheduled to sit exams in the upcoming weeks. “They’re really suffering. My son has Grade Six exams in 12 weeks and he isn’t doing well,” the woman, who did not want to be named, said via telephone.
Her concern is that there are not enough teachers to properly attend to the pupils or provide them with individual attention. She related too that on some days, the children only do studies in one subject area.
“You can’t deal with all the children at the same time and they have a syllabus to cover…I don’t think they reach halfway where they need to go,” the schools’ assistant secretary, who has two children attending the school commented. She also has a child who will be sitting the Grade Six exams in April. Neither the Regional Education Officer nor the Chief Education Officer could be reached yesterday for comment.
