A Grade Five student of the Stella Maris Primary School had to seek urgent medical attention after two nails pierced her foot while she was playing yesterday in the school compound.
According to reports, 9-year-old Attena Raysaide was playing with friends during the lunch break when her left foot was penetrated by two nails after she stepped onto a piece of wood. The nails went through the sole of her shoe.
According to Raysaide’s class teacher, she was in the classroom when the injured girl and other students came to report the matter. She said that the child was crying out in pain as her foot bled profusely. She said that the child’s foot was swollen and that she had a slight fever. The child’s mother was contacted immediately and the girl was taken to the David Rose Health Centre where she received a tetanus vaccine and was ordered to rest.
The girl’s mother Samantha Hintzen was very upset at the circumstances under which her daughter was injured and opined that a school compound should never be in such a deplorable state. She accused the Ministry of being negligent and stated her intention to lodge an official complaint at the Ministry of Education.
One teacher said that every day the handy man would clear the compound of debris but the children would move some of it back. She called for all the debris to be removed from the school premises since it was always difficult to control what the children did during their free time. When Stabroek News was on the scene, it observed several pieces of wood, broken glass and other debris in the school compound.
The teacher went on to highlight other problems at the school. She said that since the beginning of the new school term school, the school was yet to be equipped with proper blackboards and screens to separate the classrooms. Additionally, the school has not had access to running water for the last two weeks. The teacher also showed this newspaper a live electric wire which was hanging a few metres above the ground.
It was also pointed out that following recent rehabilitation works the guttering of some of the buildings had been removed. Consequently when it rains, some of the water spills into the classrooms.
Meanwhile, following a visit to the school yesterday by GTU President Colwyn King and other senior officials from the union, the teachers are planning a sit-in today. They said that the conditions at the school were difficult to work under and that they could no longer endure them.
The re-opening of the school had been delayed for more than a week following extensive repair work done during the holidays. When students turned up for classes on Monday September 8, the school was in a deplorable state with dust-filled classrooms, a swampy compound and areas shrouded by high grass. There were also several live-electrical wires which were left exposed.
And although the teachers acknowledge that there have been some improvements, some were quick to point out that many of the promises made by the Ministry are yet to be fulfilled.
