After turning up at empty school…Anna Regina students reportedly prevented from returning home

Sep 05, 2018 News

As tensions continue to rise between the Guyana Teachers Union and the Government of Guyana, the teachers of Region Two [Pomeroon/Supenaam] have now intensified their strike action. Yesterday, teachers from the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary chose to stay away from school, leaving almost 900 students unsupervised.

Images of students being locked in at the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary yesterday unsupervised.

According to reports reaching this publication, students were very much surprised when they tuned up to a locked building without teachers.
After 9:45hrs, a number of students became anxious and worried; some of whom even attempted to return home. Security guards who were stationed at the school gates, however, were reportedly instructed by the Department of Education to keep all school children in school.
Parents who were terrified at the thought of leaving their children unsupervised at school, quickly turned up to the school gates demanding that their children be released from the ‘hostage like’ situation.
Some of the comments from frustrated parents yesterday included, “Why the guards didn’t turn back the children since there is no teacher in the building…If yuh leave yuh child inside there yuh ain’t know what can happen… Let the government pay up and let the teacher’s get dem money… Teachers should be paid because they are the foundation… We willing to back them. Why they can’t get 40 percent and the government can get so much increase.”
Kaieteur News was reliably informed that the Department of Education intervened yesterday and had supervision placed over the students. According to reports, three teachers along with the secretary and dorms parents were ordered by the Department of Education to supervise. The Department on last Monday said that it was prepared to deploy temporary teachers to the affected schools. Since the department did not speak to the media yesterday, it is still unclear whether or not these three teacher’s were from other schools. Kaieteur News understands, however, that there were two additional secondary schools on the Coast, which did not open for students yesterday. The strike is expected to continue today in Region Two, and it is anticipated to be bigger than before.