Shardha Sandapen
1 April 2008
column
Port Louis — We are still in shock about the four dead in last Wednesday's torrential rains. A tragedy for the whole country! A tragedy for our teachers and students since, among them, Laura Paul, only 13, had been to school because our minister of Education, Mr Dharam Gokhool, had not deemed it fit to keep schools closed.
Even more shocking is his statement on the radio. Instead of apologising for his incompetence and irresponsibility, and sincerely sympathising with the family afflicted by the loss of a member, he talks about facts and figures! Laura Paul was only one out of 350,000 Revolting! When an innocent child has lost her life due to human negligence, how can he talk about statistics? Had she stayed at home on that sinister day, this tragedy might not have happened.
What are the criteria that allow the minister of Education to close down schools? So far we have heard of only one: more than 100 mm of rainfall throughout the island. How can this be the only criterion that allows him to close down schools? Who decides? The Meteorological Services or the minister of Education? Listening to Mr Gokhool, it sounds more like the Meteorological Services!
Are there no other criteria? Impossible! As minister of Education, should he not have asked rectors, principals and other school administrators to check whether the schools were in a condition to welcome our children? Is this not a common practice? The schools in our country are far from being five-star schools! There are so many with poor infrastructure. And what about the conditions of our roads in such heavy rains? Were they safe for our children to travel upon ? Mr Gokhool said that he had ensured the safety of all our children. What safety measures did he provide to our children against overflowing roads, canals, rivers and broken bridges?
He emphasises that he had been in contact with the Metorological Services since five o'clock in the morning but, despite that did he not foresee any danger in opening the schools? Before four o'clock in the morning, the Meteorological Services had already registered 98,4 mm of rain at Mon-Loisir-Rouillard. No need to be an expert in meteorology to realise that it would not take much time to reach the (much awaited) 100mm of rain with the heavy and incessant rainfall. By ten o'clock in the morning, several places in the East and North-East of the island had already received more than 100mm of rain. Still, he did not find the situation alarming enough and children had to stay at school until 2 pm.
Before asking our CPE children to make use of their logic and critical thinking, our minister of Education should have used his since it is due to his lack of decision-making, his irresponsibility and his incompetence that our children were exposed to real danger last Wednesday. Unfortunately, being a great professor in Law does not necessarily mean one is a good educationist!
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