Concerned teachers at the Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School are calling on the relevant authorities to have the school relocated from its present site to an area that is more conducive to learning.
Teachers said “enough is enough” and they are “fed-up” with the constant flooding at the institution which hinders the learning process and causes many weak and developing students to fall back on their studies. Parents also play the “blame game” when the students do not perform well in their studies.
Speaking to Stabroek News on Friday a senior teacher said that whenever there is a spring tide the schoolyard floods and the water rises to about 15 inches. She said there is also an active burial ground next to the school which poses a health risk to students and that is one of the reasons the teachers are calling for relocation.
She added that when the compound is flooded, dead animals and garbage from neighbouring Plastic City, where the water comes from, are deposited in the yard. They would then have to sanitize the school, which would mean students would have to stay away for approximately four days.
“Last term [Education] Ministry officials came to the school and assured us that a concrete fence will be built around the building so as to prevent the water from entering,” the teacher told Stabroek News.
She went on to question the effectiveness of the proposed fence noting that if the root cause of the problem, which is visible, is not fixed how then a concrete structure would not effectively keep out the water.
The senior teacher said as a result of the constant flooding, students and teachers are also complaining of the lack of recreational facilities at the school, while noting that instead of the annual sports day being held at their school it has to be kept at the West Demerara Secondary School’s (WDSS) playfield. When this occurs, if school is in session at the WDSS, classes are hindered since the sport activities involve some amount of cheering.
They want the school be relocated to an area more conducive to learning and one where heavy noise from the traffic and loud music from busy business places would not affect the student’s concentration, as happens in the current environment.
“Every time there is a high tide the school is inundated… the school is situated adjacent to an active cemetery, so we know the health risk that can happen there…,” A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) parliamentarian, and teacher at the school, John Adams, told Stabroek News in a recent interview.
Like every other teacher Adams had suggested that the school be relocated, or engineering skills be brought on board.
He had explained that the Plastic City community is located just behind the school, and there is a gaping hole in the seawall so whenever the tide comes up, the water passes through it and flows into the school compound. He feels that the fissure in the seawall actually alleviates the problem for the people in Plastic City, as the water is no longer locked in there, but flows through the crack into the school compound giving the residents some relief.
He had said the issue cannot be fixed at the level of the Regional Democratic Council but rather the Ministry of Public Works would have to intervene.
While personnel from that ministry had gone to check several times, nothing has been done to rectify the problem.
Efforts to validate their visits and get a comment from Minister Robeson Benn proved futile.
Adams earlier noted that the entire Vreed-en-Hoop area is flooded at times, and as such it is for the ministry to have something done or for the school to be moved. And it is not just the teachers and students of the school who are affected, but also the in-service trainee teachers who have their classes in the school building and who have to use the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School whenever there is a flood.
Adams hopes that the Ministry of Education will allocate a special building for the in-service trainee teachers, as they need to be comfortable when being taught. He suggested that the Windsor Forest Primary School old building, which is not in use, should be refurbished and used as the trainee teachers’ permanent base.
