The Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Nine has denied reports that students in the dormitories of the Annai Secondary School are surviving on one meal a day because the money given to the school by the RDC is grossly inadequate.
Stabroek News had received a report to this effect on Sunday, but when contact was made with Regional Executive Officer (REO) Samwar (the only name he gave), he said students were receiving all they should, which includes three meals a day, at the dormitories.
According to information reaching this newspaper, 132 students live in the dormitories and since last Tuesday, they have been surviving on single meal a day. The last meal they had eaten was rice and corned beef last Friday and was served in limited quantities, this newspaper was told.
According to the source, the council gives the school $400,000 a month, which at three meals a day works out to just about $34 per meal for each student. It was pointed that with the high cost of living in the hinterland this could not adequately feed the children. Some of the students have begun to complain of hunger and some of them live as far as 75 miles away from the school; it would take them three days in the Pakaraimas to travel home. The situation has been in the making for the last three months, the source said, and the council was briefed but took no steps to have it corrected.
However, the REO denied that that was the sum of money given to the school’s administration, inviting this newspaper to take a trip to the region where all of the information could be verified with documents provided. He said that on Friday last, the council had received reports that there might be a shortage of food, since parents had removed their children from the school on Saturday.
As a result, the REO said, a team was sent to the school and it was learnt that the school had a day of sports and parents who attended decided to take their children home for the weekend. “It was nothing like that and I would wish Stabroek News could come up and do their own investigation. But I am glad that you called even though I am not supposed to talk to the press but I don’t want wrong information about the council to be published,” the man said.
He said he has been at the council since March and he can safely say that since he took up office there has been no shortage of food at the school. The man said members of the team spoke to the head of the school and those in charge of the dormitories and all was well with the children being properly fed.
