GTU stands in unity with Brickdam Secondary School teachers

As the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) stands committed to the teachers of the Brickdam Secondary School, who

took industrial action against the Education Ministry due to its failure to upgrade the school’s facility, the Union is hoping that the requisite measures are put in place to ensure that overcrowding does not become another concern.

The Union asserted its position in the situation, noting that it will stand by the teachers throughout the ordeal and until they are transferred to other public schools, ensuring that the transition is smooth and effective.

These sentiments were shared by the General Secretary of the Union, Coretta McDonald, who pointed out that the GTU had been in concord with the teachers since the beginning when they were formulating the strike action.

This was further extended as the Union indicated that it had been supporting past and present teachers of the school over the years, when the proposal for a new building was made to the Ministry.

McDonald related that teachers had been appealing for the Ministry’s intervention for years, since the school’s outer facilities had begun to deteriorate.

However, with no repairs done overtime, the school’s structure was further depleted but even this was disregarded by the Education Ministry, of both past and present administrations.

With the conditions now dubbed as “unbearable”, McDonald told Guyana Times that the teachers decided to take a stand against the Ministry; an action that had been endorsed by the GTU.

While noting the strong possibility of overcrowding at the facility since the quota of students at these schools had already been established, she said the Union is especially concerned about this development.

However, she related that the Ministry had assured that measures were in place to have this addressed.

“We know that a number of students had already been assigned to each classroom but the Ministry had indicated that it will transfer these students to schools in close proximity to their area. It had been indicated that overcrowding will not be an issue but the Union will monitor this.”

To this end, the GTU remains stern in its mandate of ensuring that teachers’ rights are not violated and at all times, they are comfortable around the classroom and the school as a whole.

In the case of any further grievances, McDonald said the Union along with the teachers will move to take any further action to resolve these.