Toilet facilities still non-existent at Charity Secondary School

Jul 04, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
On Monday, June 12th the Regional Education Development Officer (REDO) visited the Charity Secondary school. The teachers were jubilant. They were hoping that the letter expressing the dismal conditions of their sanitary block that had appeared in the Kaieteur News a few weeks ago had finally brought results. Sadly! REDO, Baramdai Seepersaud wasn’t there to address the matter of unsanitary washrooms or anything affecting the teachers. Seepersaud came with a vengeful attitude to ascertain that all teachers’ records were in order.
After close scrutiny, two teachers were found delinquent in their lesson planning and a few administrative issues arose and are to be dealt with. In any organization, there will be administrative issues – humans are not perfect. Teachers are of the opinion that everyone seems to want their records done in a different way. The ministry should standarize these procedures and must supply forms and booklets for same in a timely manner. Teachers are claiming that no lesson planning booklets were supplied to secondary schools in Essequibo Coast for the year; teachers had to finance their own stationary or format exercise books for same.
On account of those two teachers and the few issues arising in the school’s office, REDO Seepersaud proceeded to apply the system of ‘Peter pays for Paul and Paul pays for All’ on all the teachers. Stating that she will not send any teacher this year on secondment to UG, she stated; “You all have to stay and improve the results of this school.” She went on, “fix the problems.”. She further stated that those who are desirous of going can resign and go if they wish. Last year Seepersaud did not send any teacher from Charity Secondary even though a few had applied.
Teachers feel that personnel in the upper echelons of the Ministry of Education (REDO, DEO, MERD) should not always be in the mode to criticize or deprive them of opportunities to better educate themselves as Miss Seepersaud did. Rather, they should help, guide and motivate individuals under their leadership. Charity Secondary School has a student population of over 700 who did not attain the pass marks to attend the higher ranked schools such as Abrams Zuil Secondary in Region 2. The classrooms are overcrowded; sometimes over 40 students to a class.
About 90% of these students hail from the Pomeroon and Charity communities where there is not much in the socio economic environment to inspire them. Instead of attempting to exact retribution from the teachers for the poor academic display from these kids, Miss Seepersaud should make her own contribution by organizing a barrage of motivational speakers with better motivational skills than herself – to try to ingrain into these kids the virtues of a good education. All that is visual in front of them is a life in gold mining and farming. To most of these children that does not require much education. The cream of the crop from these said communities goes to Abrams Zuil.
To expect the teachers to produce results on par with the higher ranked schools is like asking them to produce gold from sea water. Notwithstanding their poor academic showing, the school continues to do well in extracurricular activities and sports. They have recently won the JOF Haynes debating competition on the Coast and will be representing the region in Georgetown. Even this year’s Mashramani children competition held at the Anna Regina center ground I vividly recall the outstanding performances of this school – they were the most entered secondary school as regards to activities held by the department of education in Region#2.
Their costume float, the ship “Miss Liberty” was used to represent the region at the national level. They also made it twice to the finals in Digicel children football competition. The REDO needs to take note of these achievements of the teachers of the Charity Secondary School and be less critical of their efforts because these teachers practically pray every day not to have a call of nature and thereby have to use their washrooms which remain unfixed despite pleas for help in the media. Could it be the REDO is exacting vengance on all for the “concerned teacher” who wrote the letter in the media? Is it a crime for teachers to ask for better working conditions?
The REDO’s stand on not wanting to release any teacher to secondment at the University of Guyana, two years in succession is totally vindictive, unprofessional and detrimental to the morale of teachers at Charity Secondary School who want to further their studies. Miss Seepersaud seems oblivious of the fact that some teachers spent time and money to apply at UG last year. They did so again this year only to be disappointed by her again. How can the academic performance of the school be improved without better qualified teachers?
If those teachers that are desirous of improving their qualification are being denied the assistance to do so, it does not augers well for the improvement of the academic performance of the school. Someone at the Ministry of Education needs to ask the REDO to reconsider her position on this issue and work with the regulation of sending the amount of teachers eligible since Charity Secondary is a grade A school and no one from that school will be attending the UG for the academic year 2017- 2018.on secondment.
Cconcerned Citizen

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