THE new school year started yesterday and reports from the Regional Education Departments reported only minor challenges which are being addressed.
Regional Education Officer (REO) in Region One (Barima/Waini), Mrs. Bissoondai Deoram said there were no hiccups and all the officers involved in a fan-out are visiting schools within.
In Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Regional Education District Officer (REDO), Ms. Leslyn Charles said her officers mentioned some issues with furniture.
“These are things that we can handle and are being handled,” she said.
Charles said the Region has the capacity to deal with a number of requested transfers.
REDO in Region Three (West Demerara/Essequibo Islands), Ms. Marilyn Jones O’Donoghue said three new schools were opened, Tuschen Primary which has a nursery section, Bell West Primary and Parfait/Harmonies Primary.
“The response to all three schools was good…the difficulty I have is with parents from Parfait/ Harmonies who want a nursery department at the primary school, but space is the issue,” she said.
O’Donoghue said parents are also requesting transfers but said her department was addressing those and other issues as the officers were visiting schools.
In Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica), the REDO, Mr. Bayweda Rambarran said the biggest problem is furniture and Bladen Hall Multilateral was one of the affected schools.
However, he said the needs are being met and the “slight difficulty” will be resolved by today.
Rambarran said, during their outreach, his officers, like others in the regions, are looking at teacher absenteeism and general conditions, too.
The Education Officer (Primary) in Region Five (Mahaica/Berbice), Mrs. Chitrawattie Tularam admitted that furniture was also a problem there but said schools are in the process of being provided.
She said transfers are being requested and they are being processed while officers are trying to make sure that everything is in order.

Resolved

In Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), the REDO, Ms. Shafiran Bajan said all officers were working to ensure that any difficulty is resolved.
“So far, there has not been anything we could not have solved. Everyone was placed and staffing is under control. Water and sanitation issues, as well,” she confirmed.
The REDO in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Mrs. Mayfield Benjamin said all schools in Lower and Middle Mazaruni were open but she was unsure about the situation in Upper Mazaruni, as reports had not yet been received by her.
“The officers are all out and are doing their best to make sure that schools get started on the right foot,” she said.
Benjamin said her department has only had to deal with one transfer within the region.
The REDO in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni), was unavailable for comment, due to communication difficulties in the remote location.
However, in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) the REDO, Mr. Owen Pollard said his officers are in the process of ensuring that everything is in place for the new term.
He said they have dealt with transfers but only minimal requests were accommodated.
Pollard said Region Nine has not had any major problems on day one.
The REDO in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), Mr. Claude Johnson echoed similar sentiments and said he had not received any adverse reports.
“We have had to deal with a few transfers but all the schools have reopened and we had was nothing alarming,” he said.
Johnson acknowledged that there will always be problems to be dealt with, small things to be ironed out on the first day but, so far, nothing major.