PARAMARIBO – The parents of toddlers who turn 4 in the first semester of 2025 are upset over the weekend fact that they can’t enroll their children in primary schools because their children did not go to toddler school. Samantha Adjaikoemar, told Times of Suriname that she was informed that if her daughter was enrolled at a toddler school, she would have been enrolled after having successfully passed the screening.

She also told Times of Suriname that her daughter would turn 4 on January 10th. “Why should my daughter have to stay home for a whole year before she can be enrolled at kindergarten school. I was very happy when I heard that children who turn 4 from January until the end of March 2025 could be enrolled in kindergarten. But when I went to the school, I was told that my child had to go to a toddler school but I do not have to money to pay the toddler school every month. Another woman claimed that last Monday she was told to bring her child to a certified psychologist for a screening. But the psychologist whom she visited made it clear that she would not be able to screen her child before August 12th. The woman must reportedly make an appointment. “I asked myself why there are so many procedures. Why didn’t the Ministry of Education organize the screening like before?” …[+]