Complaints keep coming: Parents challenge Ministry’s claim of 99% school readiness

GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Less than two weeks after Education Minister Sonia Parag declared that 99 per cent of Guyana’s approximately 1,200 public schools were ready for the new academic year, complaints from parents, teachers and other citizens continue to reach Opposition Member of Parliament Hon. Odessa Primus.

The Minister’s precise claim was that only about one per cent of schools were not fully ready for reopening because of ongoing works, with alternative arrangements made for affected students. She specifically described readiness as including functional washrooms, running water, safe gutters, clean surroundings and adequate furniture. (News Source Guyana)

Yet the complaints have continued. Village Voice News previously reported on problems submitted to Primus from schools across at least five regions, including teacher shortages, overcrowding, extreme classroom heat, sanitation problems, unfinished dormitories and concerns about the treatment of children. Since that report, additional complaints have emerged involving schools and issues not detailed in that initial report.