Majority of public schools does not answer union’s call

“136 of the 176 public schools who are members of the Federation of Organizations of Teachers in Suriname (FOLS) were open and did not answer the call of Wilgo VAlies to go on strike,” said Marcelino Nerkust, chairman of the FOLS. Nerkust pointed out that there were classes as usual at religious schools. He could not give exact figures when asked how many religious schools did not join the strike. Some of the public elementary, secondary schools (Mulo) and almost all of the high schools supported the strike. Tests and internal exams were cancelled as a result of the strike of the Alliance of Teachers in Suriname (ALS) and the Teachers’ Union (BvL). Valies on Wednesday urged parents and guardians to keep following the media reports and not to send their children to school unnecessarily. Parents who wanted their children off at OS Maretraite expressed disbelief when they were told that the children had to return home because teachers are on strike. Some parents criticized the strike and pointed out that it was not the right time for a strike and that the students would be the ones paying the price. School buses that had dropped off students had to return to the schools to pick them up again. Several schools sent the students home at 8 a.m. while others sent them home at 10 a.m. “I am going to my workplace but I can’t concentrate because my child is home alone,” said a concerned parent. A student from OS Maretraite told Times of Suriname that she deemed it unfortunate that classes had been cancelled because she had studied hard for a test that had been scheduled for Wednesday. Students and teachers also showed up at the Miranda Lyceum but the tests and internal exams were cancelled due to the strike.