The school was put on hot seat after President Johnson Toribiong accidentally saw the state of the school’s restrooms and other dilapidated facilities during a visit on October 21. Last week an inspection was done in the school, and it was declared unsanitary and unfit for students by the Sanitary Office.
“We were very surprised with the inspection,” Tomoichi said in an interview. “Although I was very frustrated with what happened and with the criticisms the schools has been receiving, I see it as a blessing in disguise. At least now the leaders and people in the government have taken notice of the things that we have been reporting for so long.”
Tomoichi said the dilapidated buildings, leaking roof, the state of the restrooms and other necessary repairs in the school have already been reported to the Ministry of Education (MOE) a long time ago.
“These are not new problems,” Tomoichi said. “We have been reporting these to the Ministry of Education for so long. The previous administrations have also reported these situations before.”
Tomoichi explained that the MOE only has $10,000 budget for school maintenance for all 18 public schools in Palau for the whole year.
“It is not enough. And PHS is not the only school. When we submit our report, they put it on file and they have to see which ones to prioritize,” Tomoichi shared.
The Bureau of Public Works came to the school before to do some repairs, but Tomoichi said they did not finish it. “That’s the reason for the live wires lying around.”
The science building was the one with stains and graffiti walls, and Tomoichi said it was the one used during the MicroGames.
“We cleaned up everything before school starts. But with more than 700 students, we can only do so much.
Students are hard to catch,” she said.
Just like any other schools, PHS has rules against vandalism and littering, but with only two security guards, two maintenance people and two custodians, the school is having a hard time managing more than 700 students.
“It’s hard for students to have a sense of owning the school,” Tomoichi said.
As for the criticisms that teachers are not doing their jobs cleaning up their classrooms, Vice Principal Smyth Rdang said the classroom shown on TV was the language laboratory.
“It has been closed for a long time because of leaky roof, which we have also reported a long time ago,” Sdang said. “We have been requesting for them to fix it.”
Tomoichi added that PHS classrooms are conducive for learning. “Teachers do their job. These are just matters of facilities.”
Sdang said now that the public knows about the state of the school, people both in the government and private sectors are offering for help.
On Saturday, the school is taking the initiative and set up a cleanup drive for the whole day.
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