| Manickchand well received during Linden visit |  |  |  |
| Written by Leroy Smith |
| Monday, 20 August 2012 22:52 |
-agreement sealed on placement for One-Mile Primary students for September 3 school opening EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand yesterday paid a visit to Linden in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) where she met with education stakeholders, parents and other concerned residents of the community at the Wismar Hill Primary School, as they enjoyed a fruitful interaction on the placements and other issues in relation to the children of One-Mile Primary School that was gutted by fire two Sundays ago.  Parents and teachers who turned out for the meeting yesterday in Linden Ms. Manickchand made it clear that the Government of Guyana is committed to rebuilding the infrastructure that was damaged in the community including the One-Mile Primary School. She however told those gathered that the main focus of the Education Ministry and by extension the Government of Guyana is the placing of all 847 students from the burnt out school into classes on the first day of school which is just two weeks from now. She said that the residents had to choose if they were going to allow the situation to damage their children or rise up and ensure that they work to prevent any of the children who attended the school not to be disadvantaged by the unfortunate situation. She said her visit was to put to them the arrangements that have been floating around between her, and education officials from the ministry and the region. The Education Minister added that the parents and teachers had a right to say what they were comfortable with and what needs to be adjusted.  Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, Chief Education Officer, Olata Sam and the Region Ten Regional Education Officer make their way to One-Mile Nursery Extension which will house the grades one and two students. The burnt out One-Mile Primary school can be seen in the background.
In pointing out the importance of finding places for the children to start school on 3 September, the Education Minister reminded parents that the only way their children will have a better life and opportunities that were not available to their parents is through having an education and their chances for that opportunity must not be damaged the minister added.  Ms. P Manickchand addresses teachers of the One-Mile Primary School. She said that placements for the students was of utmost importance at this time for two reasons, she mentioned the limited time that remains available for the educators and teachers to agree on everything since school reopens on the 03 of September. The other reason she give was the fact that a school was destroyed and it will take a while before there is some amount of normalcy that will start to flow as children and teachers will have to adjust to new conditions under which they will have to operate. It was announced that based on the discussion between the officials of the education ministry and regional education authorities in Linden several students from several grades will be strategically place come September 03. It was there that the parents were told that the Education Department in the region along with the Ministry of Education were trying to secure the service of a church that had a building which could be used for hosting some of the classes. It was announced that should the church be in a position to accommodate the students then the double sessions will not be necessary since with the church and several other buildings that will be made available, students will be able to attend school for entire five hours as is customary. Meanwhile grade six students will be housed at the Block 22 Community Multi- purpose Centre. The grade six comprises of four classes and represents a student population of one hundred and forty two students. The grade six students will not be having a double session and are going to be housed in a building alone. That move is being commended since those children will be preparing to write the National Grade Six Assessment examination next year and placing them in an environment that sees them having less classroom time among other things would not have been helpful to them at the examination, one resident said. The students though they will be accommodated at other schools will not have to have a change of uniform the ministry confirmed. With the exception of the Wismar Hill Primary School, all other schools and facilities which will accommodate the displaced students are situated in close proximity to where the One-Mile Primary School stood. |
