UPDATE: Protest at Petite Savanne Primary School located at Bath Estate

Protesting parents bearing placards outside the Petite Savanne primary school at Bath Estate

A handful of parents from Petite Savanne on Tuesday gathered at the building in Bath Estate which once housed the Teacher’s College with placards protesting the condition of the structure which is now being used as the Petite Savanne Primary School.

“We want to thank the government of Dominica for where our children are now because, despite the issues that we faced, our children did not stay back…but we have been getting lots of complaints from our children and we are also aware about the poor conditions of the school. It’s dirty, [with] rats infestation and lots more,” one parent said.

The group insisted that they have had enough, are “fed-up” and want immediate answers and solutions to the situation.

“So given the numerous issues, it is enough; we have had enough. They said they will build a school for us in Bellveue but while we appreciate that they can’t do everything, we need to get out. The children are complaining about rat droppings on their desk. I am in an angry mood today; the Ministry of Education officials are disrespecting us,” another parent stated.

They also took issue with what they say is the manner in which the former principal, who is from Petite Savanne and was due for retirement, was replaced without any consultation with the parents. They claim that he was disrespected and that should have been replaced by someone from Petite Savanne.

“I am saying no to the principal and if they refuse to listen, we will keep our children home. It’s now four and a half months since the children are at that location and only today they are putting internet,” the parents stated.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry of education, Chandler Hyacinth, visited the school and spoke with the concerned parents.

“Let the process take place,” she said with reference to the selection of a principal. Hyacinth also told the parents that the ministry has been addressing some of their concerns, has power washed the school and is moving to change locks. She added that the issue of rats and other animals is also being addressed.

“The repairs of the school is a big project. We are waiting on estimates so that we can send it to tender. We have to follow process…we will work on the washroom immediately,” Hyacinth said. “We had secured the place after Maria but it was damaged. There are some things which cannot be done while the children are at the school, so we will deal with that.”

The parents vowed to continue their protest action until their demands are met and even threatened to remove their children from the school. They have planned a meeting with parliamentary representative, Dr. Kenneth Darroux, to voice their concerns.

Primary school students of Petite Savanne were relocated to the Teachers Training College at Bath Estate after the massive destruction of that village and the resultant dislocation of its residents caused by Tropical Storm Erika in 2015.

Permanent Secretary Hyacinth in conversation with some of the protesting parents

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35 Comments

  1. Casio
    January 9, 2020

    I glad. Tell that to Skerrit. He that running things apparently. you see that 2020 – 2024/25, i dont care about any of you all and your hardships. Nobody not getting any spare change, not a extra $5, no small loan no nothing. Dominica is in turmoil, and the people i expected to have more common sense and moral responsibility are the same ones supporting absolute nonsense because they benefit directly, even while they have agreed that what is going on on a national level has been nonsense. they say yes, for true wi, you right you know, many of them even giving PM and his cabinet maypwi on all levels, in the end, they are the same ones jumping in red when the PM and his clowns talking their rubbish. Dominicans are cowards. Afraid of their own shadow. Slaves afraid to leave the plantation.

    • Casio
      January 13, 2020

      Meanwhilem this weekend, the PM was at the Pioneer Prep, doing coudment work. Like that is the school that needs the most attention. laughable you are my people.

  2. Casio
    January 9, 2020

    Go and ask Kenneth Darroux all you most loved Parl Rep what happening. I am literally convinced that Dominicans are crazy and mad. You elect all the square pegs to go in round holes just to ensure that lennox doesnt get in power, when you should be voting for and considering who represents your interests in your communities. Lennox wasnt even on your ballot but many of you voted thinking is he you voting againt. I am personally glad you all are STILL in that predicament, almost 3 years after Maria. Best you change the name of the school to the ‘roseau school for petit savanne people” because the FAILURE of a parl rep you all voted for in order to keep skerrit in charge to continue to do more majee with not only Petit Savanne people and its resources, but the country on a whole. Amen. Every country deserves the leader it gets. most Dominicans have proven themselves to be fools based on this last election. Take everything all you get. i not feeling sorry for non of all you.

  3. Ibo France
    January 9, 2020

    I’m having a second helping of this topic because this is so outrageously heart wrenching. Let’s all assume that these were our own biological children. Would any of us be okayed with these sickening health hazards that these innocent children are subjected to on a daily basis? Being in constant contact with rat feces and urine could be fatal. The constant inhalation of pungent odor by our children (for all Dominicans, rich or poor, are one big family) from this old, disintegrating building is most troubling for those of us who still have our conscience intact. This is just unconscionable. Remove the students immediately from this unhealthy, disease infested environment . Where is your empathy for our most vulnerable children? Don’t they deserve to be educated in a healthy environment? Yes, they do!

  4. Ibo France
    January 8, 2020

    Some people have chosen to focus on the choice of principal for the Petite Savanne Primary School. What they should focus on is the deplorable conditions where the school is housed. Not even animals should be accommodated in that dilapidated, odorous, unhealthy place. This is a crime against humanity. This prolonged period of having our most precious resources (our children) being in daily contact with mole, rat feces and urine, cockroaches, litter and other unsanitary conditions can only shorten the life expectancy of each student. Health and education should be two of the three top priorities of a caring government. In the case of the Petite Savanne Primary School students, both have been severely compromised. This for sure is undisputable evidence that this corrupt, rotten regime doesn’t possess a scintilla of concern, care or love for our most vulnerable children. These hapless children and their poverty stricken parents are simply dispensable. Shameless and wicked government.

  5. Eddy A
    January 8, 2020

    I realize the gov’t cannot do everything for everyone all at once given the many schools that had to be renovated, some still needing some sort of repairs. I’m sure this issue will be addressed and the Bellevue school too. The Ed dept has done a fantastic job to get all our kids back to school after hurricane Maria. Patience is virtue.

  6. Afflicted
    January 8, 2020

    Tread carefully with this action eh, Marigot people tried that for a better health center and look how the Petite Savanne guy handled it. :twisted:

  7. Jeule Kabwit
    January 8, 2020

    Petite Savanne people are spoilt, too long govt. has been bending backward to accommodate them. Since when does govt has to consult a community to appoint a Principal. Principals have been transferred from one community to another with no problem, your teachers may not be the best qualified for the position, it’s for your children’s benefit.

    ADMIN: The updated story outlines the protesters stated concerns. It does not mention anything about the choice of principal being the motivation for their protest.

  8. Eddy A
    January 8, 2020

    They want to thank the government of Dominica for where their children are now…but at the time time they criticise the poor state of repair of the school, saying it’s dirty and rat infested!!
    Why oh why are they thanking the government in the first place? They should throw them out of office instead! Poor Dominica, they all afraid of the dictator and his useless ministers.
    Can you all imagine what could have been done with the missing CBI money? Hundred brand new rat free schools and 25 new health centres could have been constructed and in the process hundreds of citizen would have had jobs in construction! But they all voted for Skerrit instead in exchange for a little envelope…

  9. Youth
    January 7, 2020

    I agree.. Wat yall complaining for? Yall have all u children in that situation by voting labour!!! Go at all u home n make bay oil eh!!!

    • Casio
      January 9, 2020

      and zayeed and wabio.

  10. January 7, 2020

    @Lagahoo, keep in mind that there are people who did not vote for the Labour Party, so they are grumbling ones influenced by their leader; no wonder the news article starts with “A handful of parents”

    And a “handful” cannot be the voice of the people, the demands will not come through–especially what is the nature of the demand.

  11. January 7, 2020

    A “handful” is not the voice of the parents; I always wonder why those grumbling few are always using “we” and our to speak their grievances.

    There is no place in the World where everyone is happy about the conditions of Lifein and around them. But it is the majority that must speak for the voice to be heard.

    Those certain few people need to learn to think for themselves and to stop being foolishly influenced by those who are searching for a benefit for themselves. It has not worked in the past and it won’t work now. These kinds of practices are just a nuisance to the general public.

    • foreign observer
      January 8, 2020

      Elizabeth, I think you should reconsider your comments. Rodent infestations are an extreme health risk, primarily due to leptospirosis which can be a deadly disease especially as its symptoms mirror those of the flu and can be diagnosed too late. I know people who have died of leptospirosis in the Caribbean. As the Permanent Secretary has acknowledged the rat infestation, parents raising the issue publicly are certainly not a nuisance to the general public, but are undoubtedly fed up with their efforts to raise their concerns privately going unheard.

    • WB
      January 8, 2020

      You’re a nuisance to yourself.

  12. BELLEVUE BOY 20/20 Vision
    January 7, 2020

    Them Ti savanne people too damn segregated !! They moved to Bellevue and made demands to have their own primary school when the current school is under occupied.

    They wanted their own health center, they are behaving like the whites of apartheid south africa. This nonsense has to stop once and for all!!

    Now they want to put their young girl as principal , BULLCRAP!!

    IT HAS TO STOP

    • Casio
      January 9, 2020

      Should they not have at least their own health center? In this day and age why not? Objectively speaking i believe we need more health center in more communities to ensure primary health care is received by all. Doesnt have to be a major health center like what we have in Roseau, but a significant health outpost accessible by all.

  13. Hedda
    January 7, 2020

    look a set of jacharse after they put back skerite they protesting. . but all you doninicans are a bunch of fools

  14. Roger Burnett
    January 7, 2020

    As I see it, the discontent has nothing to do with the choice of Principal or the dilapidated building but goes back to Erica, and the attempt to permanently re-locate the Petite Savanne community from their roots.

  15. weh
    January 7, 2020

    Hope they don’t get teargased

    • Da Girl
      January 8, 2020

      But but but..I find your comment real ignorant.. The people have an issue and they are making sure that they are heard, protesting peacefully. You see any of them burning anything and holding anyone hostage, demanding payment to pass with cutlass in their face???

      • Zor sot
        January 8, 2020

        When they were standing by Domlec some time ago not burning anything, they were teargassed. Open your eyes. Tear gas is wrong. They were protesting for their rights. And they have a right to Protest. There is no difference.

      • weh
        January 9, 2020

        That was my point ppl in DA have a right to protest peacefully without having to fear being teargased by police.

  16. Thanks
    January 7, 2020

    DNO where’s the news tasteless. Parents have the right to safeguard their children’ welfare and wellbeing, but is that news worthy DNO, tasteless.

    • DAPossieMasse
      January 7, 2020

      Silly your advocacy feels like “Act Passed by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina at the Session of 1830—1831″ (Raleigh: 1831)” which legally gave the mandate to prevent slaves from learning to read or write. You clearly do not understand what is important to these parents, their children, the growth, future and development of a nation.

      Maybe you should take a look at what is happening in slicky Browne’s Antigua and Mottley’s Barbados… I will not even ask you to look at England’s and America’s educational systems, because this may be too much for your brains.

      But to a certain extent, I agree with you. You see, The current Dominican cabal masquerading as a government continues to educate Dominicans, then send them away to help the economy of other countries grow. So within this context, why educate them in the first place. But parents will be parents and I agree with their protest if the conditions for educating their children are not appropriate.

  17. DC
    January 7, 2020

    Unbelievable! Remain a Community School? After a rude awakening from a natural disaster, it is mind boggling to see such ignorance. My people, the time has come for us to break the chain of segregation and discrimination. We are a small Country, if someone meets the requirements for a position, then, their place of birth or residence should not be the main deciding factor. I am hearing that the parents want a Principal from their village. God help us! This is one I won’t stand for. Stop this madness! We are one people! The Almighty is watching!

    • Observer 1
      January 7, 2020

      I concur. Such pettiness! Since when has a requirement for filling the position of principal of a learning istitution been dependent on origin? This is such a retrogressive mindset. It has always been the practice for school principals to be assigned to work at any public school in any part of the country; it is the perrogative of the Ministry of Education. Where did this new “culture” of parents/communities having a say in who is appointed school principal emerge? Such backwardness! I happen to know a number of former primary school principals who have worked ALL over the island during their teaching careers. The communities were the richer for it, not to mention the experience and comaraderie that these principals cultivated in the communities where they were assigned.

      • Olive
        January 7, 2020

        Make punctuality your business..

    • Olive
      January 7, 2020

      But you will not be the principal.. stay where you are ..

    • DAPossieMasse
      January 7, 2020

      What really will breakup this chain of ignorance that permeates every aspect of Dominica’s society?

      Charlie the Manson like mentality has the answer: Introduce violence in Dominica’s politics via his intent to kill accomplices the Jamaican laced killer RSS which fired live bullets on peaceful Dominicans… probably Melissa knew and understood the solution and result of introducing violent language in Dominica’s political theater, which is why she bragged about her snipers…. all snipers are trained to do is to kill, create mayhem, and instill violence within the ranks of their targets and victims. Well, let’s wait and see how it works with Iran!

    • God's child
      January 8, 2020

      God bless you. True ungreatfulness. Keep your kids at home who cares.skin color have nothing with whom they chose it is called qualification. Go back to your community then and build a school. :oops:

    • viewsexpressed
      January 8, 2020

      Good Observation DC…on this worrying concern:
      “I am hearing that the parents want a Principal from their village. God help us! This is one I won’t stand for. Stop this madness! We are one people! The Almighty is watching!”
      DC, I am fully in support with your comments and obvious suggestions as to how this matter came about and must be revised ASAP. I have known so many good, well positioned, qualified, dedicated committed Dominican of the civil service, police, teacher, all over who worked in villages within their own and transferred to other villages/Districts to work, be it police, civil servants, teacher, agricultural officers etc. The civil service is opened to all to be transferred and work in any village or districts. This I enjoyed as a field officer years gone by. I really enjoyed the comfort and company of all I met and worked with. I also enjoyed church service and admitted I was in awe as a Catholic to see the youth Choir and the great service. Lets serve our…

  18. Lagahoo
    January 7, 2020

    Petite Savanne people demonstrating for what. ALl you just vote in Labour Party to government so what is the problem? What you want the Labour Party to do now that they have not done in 20 years…Fools!!!

    What you all want? A new school building? new principal? new staff? more hand outs like complete uniforms, school supplies? what all you want?

    Cool out? Is not at the school to go demonstrate… Be bold go to the Presidential Palace or the Government Headquarters and Financial Centre if all you bold enough… Let the authorities deal with all you whether you are RED or BLUE or any othe colour… All you to foolish.. Let me laugh :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: MOre to come

    • %
      January 7, 2020

      I heard the issue is more relating to a principal, that has been transferred, and not any darn condition of school..The Ministry of Ed must not have any principal glued to any one school..Transfer them every year or two!
      Labar Kar Twavaye.
      They need to run you all labourites, out of the compound!
      Skerrit
      Whey is di money?
      Whey is di money,?
      Whey is di money?

    • DAPossieMasse
      January 7, 2020

      While I support the advancement for an education in any form. @Lagahoo, you are on point. It is well said and I agree there is more like this to come.

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