Education Minister Shaik Baksh on Friday said that the furniture probe at the Richard Ishmael Secondary School had been completed but the findings could not be released since the Ministry of Education was still looking into the rules governing requests for furniture.
Late last year the ministry launched an investigation after parents of newly enrolled students of the school made claims that the headmistress had asked them to provide furniture for their children.
When contacted on Friday, Minister Baksh acknowledged that the ministry had completed its investigation but said that he could not release the findings to the newspaper.
He explained that they were still looking at the rules in place for the procurement of furniture in schools, adding that a breach of any rules had not yet been established.
Meanwhile two parents told this newspaper that the furniture they had bought was still at the school and was being used by their children. They said that those items would be with their children until they left the school.
One mother who wanted to remain anonymous told Stabroek News that the school had asked for the item of furniture to be taken home. However, her husband had said that this wouldn’t make sense and a decision was made to leave it there for the child to use until he finished school. The parent said that too much money had been spent to buy the furniture for it to be returned home.
When the school opened its doors for the new school term last September, newly enrolled students turned up to find their classrooms in disarray and without furniture.
Several visits to the school revealed students sitting outside the office on new seating their parents had bought. Parents complained not only about being asked to provide furniture to a public school, but also about instructions as to what type and quality to purchase.
Reports are that these instructions were given to parents when they attended the orientation session last July, while this newspaper had noticed a sign to this effect posted near the gate outside for everyone to see when they entered the compound.
Permanent Secretary at the ministry Pulandar Kandhi had said that he was concerned about the parents’ complaints and deemed the official “totally out of order.” On that occasion he had assured this newspaper that there would be an investigation into the matter. Kandhi had said too that asking parents to bring furniture for students was against the ministry’s protocol, and if that had indeed happened, the official should have known better. Furniture was subsequently provided to the school by the education ministry but a number of items bought by parents was already there.
Following the incident, parents had raised the issue of reimbursement for the money spent, but the ministry has since said that a decision would be taken once the investigation was completed.
