Scrutiny needed for teachers who have all the tools yet refuse to teach

Dear Editor,
Please allow me to voice my concern about our students, particularly those who are fast approaching their National Grade Six Examination (NGSA) in 2021 and some teachers, here in Region Six (6), who choose to either sit idly by and leave their students, at best, to other teachers in their grade, or don’t teach at all, merely because they are probably the senior teachers in a particular school, and those younger educators, who they throw their students to, must be subservient to them, or else their yearly evaluations will be troubled or simply because they don’t want to teach at all. Either way, this victimisation must end now.
Editor, I must commend and congratulate those teachers who work tirelessly and assiduously for their students, particularly those in the hinterland regions, who notably don’t have all the amenities we have here in Region Six (6) and other regions.
However, some teachers in the more privileged regions, like Region Six, choose during school hours to shop at the market or to exercise at the gym or some go beyond it all and offer lessons during school hours, for which the student(s) has to pay. In addition, when the ordinary parents complain or even ask for Zoom or Google Meet classes, they say either they don’t have access to the internet, or that they have to pay for Zoom, despite all the schools in the geographic area of Region 6 having internet from which these few teachers are from. Also, Google Meet is a free platform to facilitate such classes and there are hundreds of courses that the Ministry is offering to aid education in virtual learning yet, Editor, some choose to leave our Grade Six students on their own. There is simply no excuse not to teach our Grade Six (6) students. Editor, while one may argue that there is the Learning Channel to facilitate Grade Six (6) students, I would want to ask then, why are our taxpayers’ dollars paying these few teachers? Also, if a student doesn’t understand the contents on the Channel, who are we to turn to for help?
Editor, we all can agree that the Minister and her Ministry are doing everything possible to bring education during these difficult times to create an environment of learning, but some teachers who have access to the internet, even if they just have to go for an hour, two times a week, to their school, to check in on their students or to even share work electronically, are refusing to do same. This bunch must be part of scrutiny by the Ministry. I call on the Honorable Minister to establish an administrative approach where Head Teachers, must request for messages or evidence that teachers are doing their jobs, particularly those that have all the basic necessities at their disposal. Also, let me also say, most equivocally, in my conclusion, that there is a majority of teachers who are dedicating all their efforts to helping their students in these trying times, however, my message is for those very few, who know themselves, who are refusing our children their basic rights to education whilst they collect their salaries at the end of the month. They must be part of scrutiny by the Ministry. At last, I call on the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), asking that in the same spirit they advocate for their teachers’ right, they advocate for my child’s right. To those teachers who teach tirelessly, I say thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Name withheld