The parents and teachers of the St Lust Primary School in the Berbice River are calling on the relevant authorities to construct a new school building as the present one is over sixty years old and is in a deplorable condition.
“This school building needs no renovation and that is what they are doing; we need a new school building and this community has the largest number of children enrolled than any other school in the Berbice River,” Captain of the Wiruni community Telford King told the Sunday Stabroek during a recent visit.
Children from the Wiruni attend the St Lust Primary School as the two communities are close to each other, and according to a teacher from the school there are 82 children enrolled and they expect five more children to start attending the school shortly.
The school consists of a one flat building with no partition inside, and the school furniture is in a deplorable state with the cupboards rotting away and eaten by wood ants. But more important and of serious concern to the communities is the fact that the foundation of the school has shifted. The Captain said that over the years there had been renovations to the building but that this can no longer suffice.
“My father is sixty years old and he said this building has been here before he was born, and he attended this school,” a resident told this newspaper.
It was stated that the only major work that was done to the building was the construction of an extension some years ago.
A visit to the school after hours revealed holes in parts of the flooring and according to one teacher, a child was injured when one of her feet went through the floor just as she entered the door. The back steps of the school became so hazardous that a decision was taken to stop using them. There is a supporting beam in the school’s roof that is rotten and teachers are afraid that one day it could become dislodged.
The last contractor who worked on the school built the landing leading to the school’s front door, but left huge spaces between the boards which is very dangerous for the children as their tiny feet can easily slip through the spaces.
“We don’t want a disaster to happen that is why we had asked for a new building,” a teacher said.
She said that late last year an education officer visited the school to do an appraisal, and she had indicated that she would recommend that a new building be built because of the deplorable conditions .
However, a contractor visited the school recently and to the disappointment of all concerned reported that he had been hired to effect repairs to the school building. The Captain and others in the communities served by the school are hoping that the authorities would hear their concerns and accede to their request in the interest of the children’s safety. (Oluatoyin Alleyne).
