The Line Path school and mandir
The mandir
The mandir

Fulfilling their mandate to society

Evette Johnson is the headteacher of Line Path Secondary School and from the looks of things she is a strict disciplinarian, who “runs a tight ship”. The school is one of the cleanest and well-kept and they have stringent handwashing and social distancing practices in the classroom. Johnson supervises 40 teachers and the school has a total of 660 students and it is one of the biggest schools on that corridor and has produced some top performers and academics including, Neosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, who gives back to that school.

Pandit Jaganath Seveka Dasa

Johnson explained that with their online learning a smart classroom is being set up at the school and teachers can utilise same to promote online teaching with the internet-ready devices. She stated that for the worksheets distribution some parents and students are not visiting the school to collect the worksheets and others haven’t returned them to be marked by the teachers.

School is in session from Monday to Friday for students of Grade 10 and 11, those preparing for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and a total of 85 students will be sitting that exam this year. She reported that they have 124 students in Grade 10 and the attendance at school has been reasonable, so far and those students have a timetable.

Johnson told the Pepperpot Magazine that the online teaching is for students of Grades seven to nine and the teachers are trying their best in the light of the pandemic to reach out to as many students as possible. The headteacher, who has spent eight years at the school noted that the Grade 10 students would go to school two days per week while, the Grade 11 students would go three times per week.

Headteacher, Evette Johnson

“The students of this school have a lot of potential and they have maintained am 68 percent pass rate and they have students, who are multi-talented and are part of many projects the school has,” she said. Johnson pointed out that they have an agriculture project where broccoli and cauliflower were produced in the farm on the school grounds, a chicken farm and a fish project and the Science Club distributed tilapia to farmers in the community.

At Line Path Secondary School they have several departments including technical drawing, Information Technology, Sciences, Business, Agriculture Science, Mathematics and English Language. “Running this school is a team effort and I must say thanks to the teachers for going the extra mile in tutoring students even through this difficult season of pandemic,” she said.

Johnson reported that the school has an active Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) and often zoom meetings are held. After 35 years in the noble teaching profession, Johnson will be retiring in August this year and she describes her journey as good and it is her way of serving the community.

Line Path Mandir

Johnson and her team of teachers at the school

Meanwhile, Line Path has a lovely mandir, a grand building that has rooftop accommodation for devotees, a library, a worship section, a kitchen area, a seating area for eating and a rooftop view. The Sri Sri Jagannath Prasad Mandir was built by Pandit Jaganath Seveka Dasa and his family without any funding for the community and Iskcon.

The mandir also serves as an ashram for devotees and a family of four is staying there. They have regular services but they do not accommodate a large gathering due to COVID-19 and all hand washing and face mask measures are in place. The mandir is sanitised regularly and normally it has 350 members but services are held to have different groups for worship services.

Line Path Secondary School (Carl Croker photos)

The Pandit told the Pepperpot Magazine that during the pandemic they distributed hampers to villagers and members. The Sri Sri Jaganath Prasad Mandir started in 2010 at a small place and the building’s design is from India and it took five years to be constructed. Pandit Dasa stated that last year they had a large feeding programme at the Skeldon Market Tarmac where 5,000 boxes of vegetarian food were cooked on-site and distributed to the community and 2,000 boxes of sweetmeats were also given away.

The religious leader is also a businessman who owns and operates two petrol stations and provides employment for people from the village.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.