Education Ministry stymies celebration in local schools – GTU

World Teachers’ Day observances

As the world celebrated World Teachers’ Day on Wednesday (October 5), Guyanese educators were disallowed from officially taking part in the festivities.
This has been deemed a “backward step” on the part of the Education Ministry by Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) General Secretary Corretta McDonald, who told Guyana Times on Wednesday that many teachers who were looking forward to the day were now fearful that the observance would be permanently halted in Guyana.
“The Union is quite disappointed that our counterparts at the Ministry don’t see teachers as being valuable to this nation and we are saying that because over the years, we were accustomed to having the conditions where on Teachers’ Day, teachers were allowed a manager’s day where they were able to socialise and reflect on lives they would have impacted over the years and to reenergise themselves,” McDonald posited.

Guyana Times was told that regional education officials were on Tuesday informed that the observance was not to be held as permission was not granted. This decision was handed down despite entities, such as regional offices, expending large portions of public funds already approved and procured to purchase cooking materials and rental of facilities for the day’s celebration.
“This year, we recognised that no permission was granted for regions to carry through anything for World Teachers’ Day. I know that Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and Ten [would] usually plan activities for their teachers,” the GTU General Secretary stated.
She further explained that no apparent justifications were given for the Ministry’s decision and even suggested that GTU’s efforts in seeking clarification from Acting Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson proved futile.
“As recent as [Tuesday], headteachers in Georgetown were informed that the day was not granted … we [GTU] see this as a very backward step and they [teachers] are hoping that this is not the death of World Teachers’ Day celebration in Guyana, where we would have teachers interacting with the each other, whether it’s via sports or cultural activities. We are hoping that this action will not be continued,” she explained.
Meanwhile, former Education Minister Priya Manickchand took to social media to express her disgust at the decision. She posted that the decision was a “slap in the face” to teachers.
“The Minister of Education and other senior officers PAID with taxpayer dollars handsomely to take out full-page ads claiming to celebrate teachers on this World Teachers’ Day. I thought that was nice. But then came the slap in their faces. Historically, teachers would be allowed the day with pre-planned activities across the country… well, not so this year; with the change came some harmful and hurtful changes… It was a normal working day. A slap in their collective face; a message that said ‘get over there, massa said to work’!” the former Minister expressed on Facebook.
Manickchand added, “When words don’t match actions; can’t get their 50 per cent increase; can’t get the respect of early notification of a terrible withdrawal of something that has come to be almost a condition of service. Can’t get any of the campaign promises fulfilled. Oh what a change!”