The government will today, 8 October, provide an extensive response in De Nationale Assemblée (DNA, Suriname’s parliament) on the problems at the start of the new school year. Vice President Gregory Rusland announced this in parliament. These include a shortage of teachers, overdue maintenance and insufficient school space.
According to Rusland, the government is currently mapping the bottlenecks. This includes determining how many teachers are available. Only after the start of the school year can it, according to him, be clearly established how many teaching staff have left and how large the shortage actually is.
Housing also urgently requires attention, according to the vice president. He states that years of overdue maintenance have led to the need to renovate schools. In addition, extra classrooms and new schools must be built where necessary. According to Rusland, the government is trying to respond to this “with all hands on deck”.
As an example, he referred to a situation in the interior, where residents protested because classrooms had not been cleaned. According to Rusland, action was immediately taken to investigate whether there is a staff shortage and whether additional personnel can be deployed in the short term.
The vice president said he had also spoken extensively with President Jennifer Simons about the education problems and the support needed. According to him, the Minister of Education is now in the field to assess the situation.
Rusland has asked the minister to be present in parliament today to explain the current state of affairs and answer questions from DNA members.
In addition to education, the government will also address other current issues today and on Friday. According to the vice president, the aim is to provide as many concrete answers as possible to the concerns expressed by parliament.
