GTU condemns violence against teachers, demands better security

In light of the recent attack on a St Agnes Primary School teacher, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) in a statement has strongly condemned the act and called for tighter security for educators.

The attack which was captured on camera and posted on social media went viral immediately. A similar incident occurred in November 2019 whereby a parent physically assaulted a teacher at the Winfer Gardens Primary School. Charges stemming from that incident are yet to be laid.
In statements, GTU President Mark Lyte condemned these actions and noted that the Union would be taking action to protect its teachers.
In the same statement, Lyte criticised the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for its inability to properly deal with such incidents. In a subsequent statement on Thursday, the Union called for the charges laid against the St Agnes Primary School teacher for defending herself to be dropped.
Lyte stated: “The Guyana Police Force has to do better at charging parents and placing them before a court of law. It is due to the reluctance and inability of the GPF to act swift and justly that this has continued. Our teachers are now fearful for their lives. The question is, who is next? The perpetrators of violence against teachers MUST face the full penalties for their actions. We have demanded that the charges laid against the St Agnes Primary School teacher for defending herself in her place of employment MUST be dropped immediately.”
The Union noted that it was in talks with the Education Ministry, the GPF, and the Social Protection Ministry on the way forward regarding the safety of teachers.
Nevertheless, Lyte made it clear that if another teacher was assaulted, the Union will be mobilising teachers to protest their insecurity at schools, publicly call out the Education Ministry to fix the security problem at schools, demand the GPF lay charges against parents who assault teachers, and call on all teachers to wear black and white on a given day to mourn the death of security at school.
In fact, the Union is urging all educators to dress in black and white on January 20, to show their dissatisfaction with the security arrangements for teachers.
When contacted by Guyana Times, the Education Ministry said it was aware of the matter which was under investigation.