Dear Editor,
On behalf of the Parent-Teachers Association of the Arapaima Nursery School in Lethem, I wish to bring to your attention, a matter of serious concern which is affecting the pupils there.
The school has 127 children on the roll, and it has become congested because other children from the nearby village of Tabatinga also attend this school. It seems to the parents that no feasibility study was done before the school was built for the growing population of Lethem, and that another school should be built for the children of Tabatinga.
The Arapaima school poses a danger to the lives of the teachers and children, since there is a lot of exposed electrical wiring on the walls of the school and at electrical outlets. Small children are not sufficiently sensitised to stay away from wires. Someone from the Education Department needs to get these things fixed immediately before it’s too late.
The school building is also in a deplorable condition; the roof leaks when the rain falls, and the upper beam is rotten and could come crashing down on these small children. There is no electric fan in the school, and when the sun is hot the children become exhausted and fretful and cannot concentrate.
The school is in dire need of a coat of paint; it looks shabby both inside and out. The parents are told to ask for donations to buy furniture and cupboards. According to the parents the Arapaima needs a telephone in case of emergency. There is a makeshift shed outside the compound for the children, but it also leaks when it rains and the children have to hurry to get inside the small school.
These are indeed serious concerns which need to be addressed urgently by the Ministry of Education or the Department of Education at Lethem. Is this the “no child left behind policy”?
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
