Teachers’ voices will not find resistance in Education Ministry – Minister

…says Ministry, Union must work in partnership for better future of Guyana’s children

The Guyana Teachers’ Union will not find any resistance from within the Education Ministry during engagements, Education Minister Priya Manickchand said at the opening of the Union’s 2nd Triennial Delegates Conference.

Addressing the gathering at the Bertram Hamilton Auditorium at the Union’s headquarters, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown, Manickchand said, “Your voice will not find resistance in the Ministry of Education, where it is practical, where it is sensible and where it is impartial. That voice must be the amalgamation and reflection of the highly diverse and sometimes contrasting ideas and desires of our teaching force.”
Manickchand said, according to a release from the Education Ministry, that it was vital that the Union was perceived as being balanced, unbiased and the ultimate defender of the rights of all teachers. She said that the Union must stay resolute in its desire to be the impartial intermediary that teachers need and deserve and must resist being easily swayed by the objectives and agendas of desperate groups within society. She said that it was on this premise that the relevance, evolution, and eventual success of the Union rested.

Further, she reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to working hand in hand with the Union to advance the overall standing of teachers since the Ministry viewed this as a vital prerequisite for the improvement of the education system.
Manickchand noted that at present, more than 2500 teachers were beneficiaries of scholarships through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) pursuing degree, master’s, PhD and postgraduate programmes. Additionally, she said that owing to COVID-19 and the physical closure of the Cyril Potter College of Education, teacher training was expanded and offered online which increased the intake at the College from the traditional 535 to now enrolling 3000 new students as training was offered online.

The aim, the Minister noted, is to have 100 per cent of the teachers in the education system be trained or in the process of being trained. She said that although there were great untrained teachers in the system, students were more likely to receive better instruction from teachers who had undergone training.
Moreover, she said that the Ministry and the Union must work in partnership and meet each other earnestly and objectively with a singular mission of securing a better future for the children of Guyana. To that end, she said that both parties must develop a stronger alliance that fostered greater social dialogue to facilitate the voices of teachers being fully and continuously heard.
She also pointed out that this partnership must ensure that teachers receive access to professional development opportunities that align with the needs of educators and that policies must be devised to advance the empowerment of teachers and their professional practice.
Guyana Teachers’ Union President Mark Lyte, in addressing the gathering, pointed out that COVID-19 allowed the Education Ministry and teachers to utilise and embrace the benefits of technology to education delivery and management. He called for greater investment in the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) moving forward.
At Wednesday’s opening, presentations were also done by Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton and Lincoln Lewis on behalf of the Guyana Trades Union Congress.