Den Amstel Primary School to be rehabilitated -Min. Dharamlall

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Hon. Nigel Dharamlall says infrastructural works will start soon at the Den Amstel Primary School to improve the experience of students and teachers.

The Minister made this announcement at a meeting there Tuesday evening, after Headteacher Ms. Roselyn Grant raised concerns.

It was disclosed that the school has a faulty electrical system, which has not been rectified despite attempts by the Ministry of Education to address the issue. The school is also affected by poor drainage and revetment and a lack of security. 

Minister Dharamlall explained that since the maintenance of schools falls within the purview of the regional administration, and by extension, his Ministry, the situation would be remedied. 

“As the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, this is part of my budget, regional education, so including the maintenance of the school among other facilities will be taken care of … So, the REO is taking notes of it and [it] at has been highlighted so that it can be fixed.”

The Headteacher also requested assistance for students to be able to access online learning. 

“The children are given the worksheets, but they also have to utilise the online platform like Zoom or WhatsApp. However, many of them cannot do so since they do not have such devices, so they have to use either their parents or siblings’ device. This situation sometimes delays their progress,” she explained. 

While Minister Dharamlall said he understands the challenges, he added that teachers needed to engage their students. 

“We would like our teachers to interact with the students despite this pandemic, but teachers must try to reach out to their students as much as possible so that they do not stay behind.”  

He also urged both teachers and parents to work together to ensure that learning is being achieved.

Meanwhile, residents called for the community centre to be repaired. Mr. Aubrey Henry also spoke about the need for cleaning and clearing the community’s drainage system and called on rice farmers to be more responsible in their use of the dams and road. 

“There are farmers who are farming on other residents’ land, and when they reap those crops, they do not provide anything to that landowner,” he added. 

Consequently, Minister Dharamlall said these issues would be relayed to the Agriculture Minister for attention. 

Additionally, the Chairman of the Community Development Council, Mr. Darren Jordan, committed to working with the various government agencies to help advance development in the community.