that they were temporarily referred to. Only 234 of the 721 students that were referred to another school due to a shortage of classrooms have been enrolled which means that about 487 students will not attend classes at the start of the new school year. AVO Director  Gracia Valies-Ormskirk urges parents to enroll their children and made it clear that the ministry cannot allow students to stay home and to miss their lessons and education. “We cannot leave these students home,” said  Valies-Ormskirk who added that she understands the emotions and concerns of parents but that the ministry is responsible for providing education to these children. Parents are reluctant to enroll their children in the temporary schools die to the long distance. Take for example VOJ Kwarasan. 180 students who wanted to attend classes at this school that is located near their home have been referred to the  LA Simonschool but only 20 have actually been enrolled.  Valies-Ormskirk made it clear that “this is a temporary solution.” She explained that the shortage of spots is the results of the huge demand in the southern part of  Paramaribo. The director pointed out that the southern part is densely populated but that the existing schools lack the capacity to accommodate all of the students. Meanwhile the ministry is busy building additional classrooms. The goal is to build about 60 classrooms and for the construction of these classrooms to be complete before January 2027. As soon as the additional classrooms are available the students who were referred to temporary schools will return to a school in their neighborhood. The Ministry of Education has also addressed the transportation issue by creating new bus routes. Valies-Ormskirk emphasized that parents do not need to worry that their children will remain at the temporary schools for many months. “It will only last one semester,” said the AVO directornwhonadded that parents must not further delay enrolling their children in one of the temporary schools. If parents do not seize the opportunity, the ministry could decide to give their spots to other students who still have not been referred to another school.