Sir Prameshwar Deonarine: using love & education for 32 years to help pupils out of poverty

Prameshwar Deonarine joined the teaching profession in 1992 at the age of 17, just after he had completed his secondary education. Thirty-two years later, he is still actively teaching, and uses his job to inspire not only pupils, but his colleagues and others on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two, where he lives and works.
“One of the greatest ideas behind teaching is that we are there to mould the minds of young people and make them into good leaders of society, and be able to contribute significantly to society and the country and the world at large. It is a noble profession,” Sir Deonarine has said.
Region Two, the Essequibo Coast, is predominantly rice-farming territory. Therefore, it is no surprise that Deonarine’s father was a rice farmer. However, his parents had other plans for him, and ensured he was educated in order to access more job opportunities; leading to him becoming the first in the family to have acquired both secondary and tertiary education.
“The family decided to have a little change. Within my family, secondary and then tertiary education actually started from me, and then filtered to the other family members,” he told Guyana Times in an interview.
His experiences and accomplishments led him to stay in the teaching profession over the years. His goal, he said, is to help pupils expand their access to job opportunities when they are older.
“As an individual who grew up in a poor family, I know for a fact that teachers would have made a foundation in my life and provided me with an opportunity to be the person that I am, which I am very proud of. And I think this is an opportunity to give back to people’s children, especially those who I think come from very poor family and can use education as a tool to take them out of poverty,” Deonarine has said.
Sir Deonarine started his teaching career at the Sparta Primary School. He later moved to the Hampton Court Primary School, where he is the Deputy Headteacher, and he teaches Grade Six pupils.
Outside of the classroom, he also works as a Mathematics Monitor with the Ministry of Education, and is involved in a project aimed at improving the performances of schools in Pomeroon riverine communities.
Educators currently face many challenges, Sir Deonarine has said, but he remains motivated by his pupils. His approach to teaching sets him apart, as he believes that education goes beyond textbooks and exams. He says he works to build relationships with his pupils.
“Children are gems, and little do teachers know that the love and appreciation the children show to us is very tremendous. In addition, sometimes we play that mother or father figure that is lacking in their lives, and (we) impact their lives in the long term,” he explained.
This personal approach has earned him the respect and admiration of his pupils, who never fail to mention his name when they ace the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations over the years.
Although he has joined the teaching profession decades ago, Deonarine says, he does not support “beating” or “flogging” of students. “Psychologically, it can be more damaging than good; and emotionally, you are destroying a child who may have come from a broken family already,” the educator noted.
Instead, he uses love and appreciation to motivate his students to work. “I would say love is what wins children: that very four-letter word. If we express love to our children, and we get them to understand why it is that we are learning this in mathematics; why is it that angles are so important, or problem-solving and dealing with money is so important; or, in science, why the digestive system is important…,” he told Guyana Times. His efforts are aided by the internet and by television sets placed in the classrooms to allow pupils to view the programmes on the Guyana Learning Channel (GLC); and he uses resources available online.
Having recently graduated from the University of Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago with a Degree in Special Education, Deonarine is pursuing his Master’s in Education Management & Leadership. With these skills, he tries to work with pupils who have special education needs, in order to effect positive changes in their lives.
He is urging teachers and other professionals to utilise the Government’s GOAL programme and other opportunities to improve their qualifications.
Deonarine is one of thirty male teachers at the Hampton Court Primary School. He is encouraging young men to enter the teaching profession because “a male figure is important” to be a good role model to students.
On Saturday, Guyana joined in celebrating World Teachers Day under the theme “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract for Education.”