for representation purposes only
Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, (SDMS), Sat Maharaj is calling on Education Minister Anthony Garcia to explain why to date five Hindu schools which are 95 percent complete cannot be fixed and opened for the children to go to school.
He was responding to questions regarding the situation at the Ramai Trace Hindu School in Penal where parents and students of the of the school protested along the SS Erin Road on Thursday morning calling on Minister Garcia to complete their school so that they can be comfortably housed. The students are currently housed at the Hanuman Milan Temple in Rock Road Penal but parents say the accommodation is not adequate.
Yesterday morning when parents arrived at the temple to drop off their children, they were greeted by locked gates.
PTA President Indar Jairaj said parents have now taken a decision to keep their children at home until the new school is opened. Jairaj said the new school is 95 percent complete.
Speaking during an interview yesterday, Maharaj said students are suffering. “There are five newly built Maha Sabha schools that are almost completed but are yet to be opened,” he said, adding that thousands of students are suffering as they are forced to study in unsuitable venues.
Schools located in Reform, Rousillac, Arima, Endeavour and Claxton Bay are ninety-five percent completed and are awaiting the minister’s attention. He also named a pre-school in El Dorado that is also waiting to be opened. “Whenever we try to find out why the Minister is not attending to these schools we get a response that says they are investigating the construction of the schools and as a result they cannot attend to the school.
What is this investigation about? We need to know,” Maharaj said.
Maharaj pointed out that the parents are taxpayers and they should be given their due at the end of the day.
He reminded that the Minister of Education got the second largest grant in the last budget, yet schools and students are suffering. Taking a jab at the government, Maharaj said while the current government has stopped the distribution of laptop computers our Caribbean neighbour is moving ahead.
“We see Jamaicans are now doing their exams on their laptops so we are backward in this regard,” he said.