Wilkie parents considering protest action

The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School has not ruled out protest action and is willing to mobilise its members to signal their dissatisfaction at the Ministry of Education come September 20 if no alternative location is identified.

President Vernon Forde told the media, during a press conference via Zoom this morning, that enough was enough.

“A number of members of our committee said we ought to picket which some of us are in favour of. While I am not going to stop the [protest], and if we are going to picket I am there, but I felt as though going to the media and getting the information out is as effective as that,” he said.

“One option I had was to borrow our children to go down to the ministry, or we attend school on your compound and invade your offices. While you’re sitting in your air conditioning, we’re going to be there. So yes, protest is being considered. There are persons who have said they have the placards and are ready to go,” he said.

Forde said they held meetings with the Minister of Education and wrote correspondence outlining issues, but there was no recourse.

On Friday, frustrated parents told the Weekend Nation the Lascelles Terrace, Pinelands, St Michael, school had been condemned after cracks were observed in the ceiling. However, Forde said other issues plagued the school including electrical and plumbing issues, no assembly hall, and inadequate facilities for staff and principal.

Last term, the school was forced to use a blended approach for the over 500 student roll, and in addition, to the compound had to host classes at the neighbouring Ann Gill School, the University of the West Indies Open Campus, and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Meadow Road, Wildey. (RA)