MINISTER of Education, Priya Manickchand last Friday clarified issues regarding the merging of the Brickdam Secondary School and Central High School and the establishment of a state-of-the-art facility. During a recent press conference, Minister Manickchand stated that she was displeased with the recent issues being highlighted by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU). She said further that since her time in office she has observed that the Ministry of Education (MOE), has over time, enjoyed a very good relationship with the GTU, in relation to the welfare of its members.

OPEN DOOR POLICY
The Minister emphasised that the ministry’s doors are always open to the GTU, pointing out too that the use of the media is extremely unhealthy to raise issues and she cautioned against this strategy.

“We are in touch by telephone…up to last week there was a meeting. We have had monthly almost statutory meetings with the Union, so I am very surprised to see some of the issues that the Union’s executives have been raising and for the first time in the media where there is no engagement with us to address some of these issues,” she said.

Minister Manickchand then noted that the ministry has identified two schools, Central High and Brickdam Secondary to be moved. This move was addressed during a meeting in December last year at the Ministry of Finance.

At present, she added, there is need to find space where a state-of-the-art facility will be constructed. The two schools, Minister Manickchand related, have similar needs but the present location is not very conducive to learning and there is also no area for extracurricular activities.

“That is something we have no difficulty in saying. We have a problem with finding space because you can’t put children in a busy street, and so we are making sure that it is funded so that we can actually make sure that it is state-of-the-art,” Manickchand explained. This had been addressed long ago, even before it gained the attention of the GTU.

DUTY FREE CONCESSIONS
The question of duty free concessions was raised at the press conference and the Education Minister explained the short comings. “In 2009, because of miscommunication between both the ministry and the union, there were some teachers who had become eligible for this, but did not get their concessions,” she said.

Minister Manickchand noted that it was not the ministry’s fault alone, but also the union’s and its executive body. She said that there were about a dozen teachers who were eligible in 2009, and they have all received their concessions.

She added that at the time they received them, they did not meet the conditions between the union and the Government as in the Memorandum of Understanding.
“At the time they made the applications, they did have the required eligibility conditions, with five years on the job and having served for three years. Given the fact that the teachers were not at fault, I saw it as unfair and took the decision to Cabinet, which agreed and passed all the procedures,” she explained.

‘A’ LIST SCHOOL
Minister Manickchand also alluded to the fact that North Ruimveldt Multilateral School will be commissioned as an ‘A’ List school. “Evidencing our progress as a country and particularly in the education sector, we will be declaring the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School an ‘A’ List school in this quarter,” she declared.

The North Ruimveldt Multilateral started out as a ‘B’ List school and based on the excellent performance of the school’s students at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) over a period of three consecutive years, the school is now qualified to be an ‘A’ List school, the Minister said. --- (By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)