Scores of teachers gathered in front of the Ministry of Labour this morning on day eight (8) of the nationwide GTU strike. In her message, Ms. Coretta Mc Donald, General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, emphasized that teachers show love daily, both within and outside of the classroom, but receive none in return. Rather, she argued that the government had abandoned the country’s educators. Ms. Mc Donald referred to the preferential treatment of sugar industry employees and suggested that teachers “pick up cutlases” to receive feelings of affection from the current administration.
The General Secretary expressed her disapproval with the way the six-year-old student from Fort Ordinance Primary was treated at the Regional Children’s Mashramani Competition yesterday, saying that the government is proud of the 6.5 percent salary increase and that the children should be allowed to sing about it. The MP questioned the applicability of the rules that the Ministry of Education’s Allied Arts Unit claimed were applied in the decision to disqualify the student.
Ms. Mc Donald urged educators nationwide to show solidarity with the “disenfranchised” student, her parents, and teachers, all of whom played important roles in the student’s preparation for the competition. She claimed that the Ministry of Education’s decision sends a “strong message” indicating the government’s intention to stifle anyone who comes out against them.