MEGD says Trøðin school must become a flagship

Skúlin á Trøðni should be treated as a flagship rather than relying on donations to fund its activities, the chairwoman of MEGD told Kringvarp Føroya.

The comments followed news on the programme Dagur og vika that the school had received a large donation. Javni applied to the Elsassfonden in Denmark for support, and the foundation awarded 100,000 kroner for new toys.

MEGD chairwoman Ása Olsen welcomed the donation but questioned whether a school such as Skúlin á Trøðni should have to depend on gifts to afford basic necessities.

MEGD is an umbrella organisation for 24 member associations. Javni is one of the associations with students at Skúlin á Trøðni. As the country’s only school of its kind, it should be given higher priority, Olsen said.

“Skúlin á Trøðni often accommodates students whom the mainstream school system cannot contain. It should therefore be a flagship within the special needs and disability sectors. It should not be lacking,” she said.

Olsen referred to a recent investigation by the children’s ombudsman, which found that the school’s acoustic conditions were unacceptable. The school is old, having been built in 1976, and needs to be modernised, she said.

“The need for school assistants, teachers and everything else must be properly addressed,” Olsen said.

She described the situation as a long-standing problem, saying several governments had been in office without taking action. The immediate priority, she said, should be to assess the school’s needs and provide funding in the national budget that matches them.