NIPA students: ‘We’re fighting for our future and a healthy learning environment’
Dear Sir/Madam,
On behalf of the students of the National Institute for Professional Advancement, we are writing this letter to lodge a formal complaint regarding students’ concerns against the board’s instability to keep the school drama and incident free.
Students are stressed out about the issues. We are supposed to be focusing on our final exams scheduled for early July, but instead we have to doing this. NIPA is known for professional advancement, however, this behavior is far from professional.
This story has been out for the past three weeks and how is it possible that the Minister of Education can publicly state that she does not know about the situation going on at NIPA. Not to make things personal, but her daughter is a teacher at NIPA, so she must have an idea of what’s going on. The Minister seems to be taking sides and in turn neglecting her duties and not respecting the oaths taken to function in her role.
In the meeting with the board, Mr. Antonio Aventurin said that he would be Interim Director and be running the school along with Mr Garfield. Mr. Garfield has been known for misleading students with false promises pertaining to classes and being disrespectful to us as well, like shouting “Get out of my office.”
We have a teacher Miss F. with years of experience and knowledge who has been with us for a year now, who gives us lectures every day and explains everything to us, like projects and assignments. She is very supportive to us in general and we can go to her with any problem. She is not only our instructor, she is also like a mother and a mentor.
On the other hand, we have a new teacher Miss N., who has only a year experience and doesn’t give any lectures and seems afraid to talk in front the class. So she just gives us assignments that really makes no sense, while she leaves the class and sits in the office until class is over. This teacher also takes school issues and discusses it with third parties outside the school (her mother who is the Minister), and her mother then confronts the parents of the students in her defense. This is very wrong and unprofessional.
Many of us have tried NIPA in the past and left due to the previous issues. Now we have returned in hopes that things have gotten better, and look at the chaos again today.
Does anyone care for the students? Some of the students are young adults with children who are using the institute as a second chance at getting an education. What will happen for the next school year? All of NIPA’s staff have issues with the way things are done there, but they seem afraid to take a stand to have a voice.
Something needs to be done about the injustice that has been taking place. This has been going on for far too long. From the opening of NIPA, up to this day, it’s always something taking place that is tarnishing the image of the institute. The school has become ghost town since the loss of Mrs. Maccow.
The 1st year Cook students have not returned to school since the removal of Mrs. Maccow and they will not complete the course due to the instability. The Maritime students are all broken and in doubt because their professor’s (Mr. Korteknie) contract has been halted abruptly and they have not been informed about how they will proceed, have exams or even have classes.
The third year students of the Care Program requested a meeting with the board, but were denied. Only three students were allowed to meet with the board to discuss their grievances, but only the Assistant Director’s two nieces and their best friends were chosen to do so in order to cover up and conspire.
The Board is running this school right into the ground and the Minister wrote on Facebook under another board member’s page that she will support the Chairman of the Board whether he does wrong or right. We have printed these comments out also.
Is that the way a Minister deals with issues that fall under her portfolio? In a manner of gossip and friendship politics? We, the students of NIPA, feel doomed. It feels like hell has broken loose since the departure of our Director Mrs. Maccow.
Since speaking out in the media we feel like we are being watched at school and victimized by a teacher with ties to the board and Minister, and if this continues we will be forced to act out of character and risk expulsion. We just want to fight for our future and a healthy learning environment.
Written on behalf of the following students:
RN/LPN Year 1
RN’s year 3
Cooks Year 1
Maritime Program
