Several parents recently expressed disbelief over the fact that the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture re-peatedly announced that the extra attention schools would commence with the lessons in February but that their children never received any official word.
A concerned mother told Times of Suriname that she received a form from the school where her son is enrolled and that she took him to the school that was on the list. “But nobody was there. After I waited there for about half an hour I was informed that the school would not participate and that I would receive more information from my son’s school. But I never heard back from them.” Another woman told Times of Suriname that she was relieved when she heard about the extra attention schools because she does not have the money to hire tutors for her children. But she never received any information from the school after her children had signed up for the program. The parents of the children who need extra lessons hope that the program will be launched soon. A principal told Times of Suriname that she has noticed that several pupils have made some progress when given additional math tasks. “The teachers can work all day but even they do not have a magic wand. Parents must also tutor their children at home,” said the principal.
