By Indrawattie Natram

MASHABO Primary located approximately five miles inland from the Essequibo Coast in Region Two managed to shine at the 2018 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) after 30 years. The school, for the first time, attained a ‘List A’ Secondary School in the region and according to Regional Education Officer (REO) Miss Nicola Matthews, it is history for the community, as, since 1986 the school did not receive a ‘List A’ Secondary School.

Attaining the highest mark for the school was Azayialia Charles who gained 438 marks while Candeo Fredricks gained 429 marks. Both of the pupils were awarded the Abram Zuil Secondary School. Three other pupils scored over 400 marks and 10 pupils will be attending ‘List B’ schools with the five-year programme.

According to the headmaster Modi Ram Beepat, despite the various challenges faced at the school the children who sat the examinations excelled. He said out of 15 children who were prepared for the examination only 14 wrote. The headteacher said that for the first time since the introduction of the six-year programme the school did not have any pupil for the remedial programme and this, he said, is commendable.

Leading up to the examinations, Sir Beepat said the children were given extra lessons on the Essequibo Coast which groomed them mentally. During the middays and evenings also, the children were involved in extra classes. He commended the efforts of Miss Fieana Best for the patience and time spent with the children. The headmaster said that many parents for the children were faced with financial difficulties since the community lacks jobs. Many of them could not afford to purchase textbooks for their children to do research, as such the headmaster said, he transported the children on the Essequibo Coast where he could have gotten access to the internet.

Most of the knowledge he shared with the children were grasped from YouTube. Beepat who has been in the teaching profession for over 20 years, said it was his desire for the hinterland children to excel at the examinations given the extensive gap during which the school did not perform well.

REQUEST FOR INTERNET
The headteacher believes that if an ICT Hub is established in the community it will create a positive environment for the children where they can have access to the internet and more so research can be conducted. He is, therefore, appealing on the school’s behalf to have internet in the community or at the school. Apart from that, he said that parents in the community are struggling to send their children to school due to financial difficulties, and often the children would stay home from school because they have to look after their siblings while their parents seek employment. The school, however, has a feeding programme which encourages attendance.

The teachers who are attached to the school are also facing difficulties accessing the community, especially during the rainy season. On a daily basis, they have to be at the landing as early as 07:00hrs and whenever it rains they would be soaked and still have to teach for the entire day. Mashabo is an Amerindian community located approximately 10 miles from the Huist Diren Public Road. The Mashabo Primary School currently has a staff of eight teachers with a school population of 98 pupils.