Education Ministry to relook at NAMS mismanagement concerns – GTU

Issues surrounding the management of the New Amsterdam Multilateral School (NAMS) continue to go unresolved, and parents and teachers cry out for a major intervention by the Education Ministry.
The school, which has a rich history, was once deemed one of the best institutions in the Region, but continues to disintegrate slowly owing to a number of issues that do not seem to have a resolution. In an effort to have their voices heard, parents and guardians on numerous occasions have written letters to newspapers so that the issues could be publicised.
Some of the concerns being aired are mismanagement of school funds, favouritism, bickering and shockingly racial tension. At the centre of these complaints was the acting Deputy Headmistress. Accusations of racial preference and favouritism were even made against the teacher.
When questioned about the issue, Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) General Secretary Coretta McDonald noted that the Union has received the reports and has adopted a position on them.
“Anything to do with racism the GTU stands firmly against. We see teachers, students, parents, we do not see race.”
Meanwhile, in a telephone interview, GTU President Mark Lyte informed Guyana Times that the Ministry was once again looking at the matter. “The Ministry is trying to see how best they can resolve the issue,” Lyte stated.
It was reported that the acting Deputy Headmistress after the school board’s life had come to an end, had made provisions to reshuffle aspects of school life such as the management of the canteen.
In November of last year, it seemed like the concerns of the parents and teachers were finally answered when the controversial teacher in question was mandated to be transferred from the school to Vrymens Erven Secondary School with effect from 2018-01-02. However, it was reported that the Education Ministry’s decision was rescinded and the teacher remained at the NAMS.
The school’s predicament has continued, this was indicated by the holding of a Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) meeting in January, with the topic of discussion being ‘racial tension and transfers’. This came as a result of the Headmistress and acting Deputy’s differences, which have reportedly ballooned into them portraying racial tendencies. On the matter of transfers, 12 teachers have made requests to be transferred out of the school, as they are no longer comfortable in the stagnant environment. Those transfer requests have not been acknowledged. In similar fashion, an alarming number of parents are requesting transfers for their children while some students have already been transferred out of the institution, since the problems arose.