Education Ministry finally intervenes to settle dispute

Standoff at Rama Krishna Primary

After one year of contentious relations between Head Teacher Melanie Cornette of the Rama Krishna Primary School and the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), the Education Ministry has finally intervened to resolve issues at the school.
The intervention came following reports by Guyana Times, which revealed the students’ progress had been hindered as a result of the tension between the PTA and the headmistress.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry stated that a senior education officer visited the school to resolve matters and to understand the reasons behind the recent protests by parents of children who attend the Primary School.
The statement further related that parents and teachers were engaged on the matter and were given an opportunity to voice their concerns. A number of matters were raised, and solutions conceived, some of which were immediately implemented, according to the release.
Moreover, the statement related that the locks were changed on the classroom doors and class teachers were given a key while a spare remains with the Head Teacher.
Following the meeting, teachers were encouraged to transform the image of the Rama Krishna Primary School and to form themselves into a strong team.
Also coming out of the meeting was a plan to have a community drive, which will involve the teachers and Ministry officials engaging the community and its members to build partnerships with stakeholders. This is scheduled for the month of March.
Only recently, parents picketed the school and stated that they were left with no other option but to highlight their issues and concerns in the media, since they were not given any action from the relevant authorities.
The parents had intended to escalate their protest if immediate action was not taken soon.
Some of the troubling issues that were highlighted in the letters to the Education Ministry and in the media include the Head Teacher’s mismanagement and harassment of the school’s vendors in October 2015, verbal threats and abuse of the PTA President and other parents, the refusal to allow the PTA to function, daily unprofessional behaviour, and alleged misappropriation of school funds.