PARAMARIBO – Pupils who passed to the 9th grade and the 10th grade can’t find any room, due to the fact that most of the ninth and tenth graders who are enrolled at the nation’s Mulo, LBO and Technical schools did not pass to the next grade. “The ninth and tenth graders who did not pass to the next grade have to redo the grade,” several school principals told Times of Suriname.

These principals explained that the classrooms for the 9th and the 10th grade are overcrowded and that only a lim­ited number of spots are available. “I can only enroll 50 students in the 9th grade because many students did not pass to the 10th grade,” a principal told Times of Suriname. The principals also explained that many students did not pass because the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture has officially put an end to its free flow policy. But many students assumed that they would automatically pass or flow to the next grade and that they there did not need to score high scores for their tests and assignments. The principals had repeatedly reminded parents that the free flow policy is a thing of the past but evidently not everyone believed it. Many parents did not find a spot for their child and we’re put on a waiting list. Vanity Esajas deems it regrettable that she the Mulo schools that are located near her house are already full. “I really hope that the ministry does not place my son at a remote location but that it finds a spot for my son at a school that is located in our neighborhood,” said Esajas. …[+]