No school buses for teachers and students

There were no school buses for the teachers and students who rely on them. These teachers and students had to find their own way to school on the first day of the new school year.

The school bus drivers who are members of the Organization of Boat and Bus Owners in Suriname (OBS) did not render their services because they have not received payment for July and August.

A teacher who relies on school transportation explained that she arrived at the bus stop at a quarter to seven in the morning but that the school bus never showed up. The teacher who lives at Lelydorp and who is stationed at a school in the Saramacca District took a bus to Paramaribo before taking a PKS bus to Kwatta. When she had reached Kwatta, she took a taxi to her school. “I work all the way in Saramacca and so you can imagine how exhausting it was. I paid the taxi driver nearly SRD 100,” said the teacher who hopes that the ministry will come up with a solution soon so that the school buses can start riding again on Monday.

Jaiprekash Badloe, vice principal at the Scholen Gemeenschap Nickerie (SGN), pointed out that the students from the Coronie District who attend school in Nickerie did not show up at school because there were no school buses. Parents wonder how long this problem will last.

Education Minister Marie Levens claimed that the problem will soon be solved. If everything goes as planned the people who provide school transportation will receive their money for July next week.