–confirm Mackenzie High reopens today for all grades

THE Region 10 Department of Education has confirmed that the Mackenzie High School will open today for all grades.

In a statement headed, “Education Must Not Be Disrupted,” the department responded directly to a post shared by APNU Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul purporting to be a notice from a school’s Parent-Teacher Association.

The notice declared that “the PTA has taken a firm stand” and that there would be “no school for students in Grades 7–12” until unspecified “outstanding issues” affecting student and teacher safety were “fully rectified.”

It claimed the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and the Department of Education “have been aware of these issues since June 2026.”

The department, however, said it was “unfortunate” that, on the eve of reopening, unnamed individuals appeared “bent on creating confusion and disrupting education delivery” in the region.

On the facts, it was unequivocal that Mackenzie High School, “reopens tomorrow, Monday, August 31, 2026, for ALL GRADES.”

Parents and guardians were urged to rely on “official information from the Department of Education and school administration,” with the statement cautioning against letting “misinformation or personal and political agendas” cost children valuable instructional time.

It closed with a direct appeal: “Verify before you share. Put our children first.”

The Ministry of Education ran a nation-wide inspection drive to ensure that every school across the country’s 10 administrative regions is ready to receive students, teachers and parents when the new term begins, with Regional Executive Officers (REOs) required to physically inspect every institution and submit photographic evidence of readiness.

Education Minister Sonia Parag had pressed the point directly to REOs, telling them at one recent session, “We must not have any complaints when schools are reopened.”