From Assistant Superintendent of Police to Deputy Head Master… ‘Sir’ David Sookram is a ‘Special Person’

Jun 14, 2020 News, Special Person

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By Romario Blair

“Despite whatever challenges we may have, we must always set our goals and work towards them if we are to truly elevate our academic ability.” Those are the words of David Sookram, a son of the soil who went from being an Assistant Superintendent of Police, to one of the most outstanding Deputy Head Master (DHM) in secondary education.

By living up to the (quote mentioned above) ‘Sir’ Sookram, as he is popularly called, has played a vital role in building the name of the Anna Regina Secondary in the late 1990s.
Today, the Anna Regina Multilateral Secondary School is one of the most recognized secondary schools in the country.
Many, who are acquainted with this remarkable gentleman, will no doubt agree that he stands for discipline and professionalism. His 10 years in the teaching profession has yielded outstanding results, especially in the Business Department at the Anna Regina Secondary School, which has been found to be an outstanding learning institution.
In the late 90’s, twice the Business Department of the school, under Sookram’s leader, secured top spots at national exams.
His outstanding contributions as an educator have no doubt made him eligible to be bestowed with this publication’s ‘Special Person’ of the week title.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
His dream of becoming a teacher did not exactly come on a silver platter, as it took Sookram years to realize it. During an exclusive Interview, he explained that fortunately for him, his parents, Edward and Philomena Iris Sookram, always placed an emphasis on education.
He explained, “My father use to emphasize the importance of education even though he wasn’t fortunate to go to high school. He was forced to leave school since age nine, being the eldest son, he and his eldest sister, along with my grandmother, had to work to take care of the younger siblings. My father, because of his perseverance, began to work with the Ministry of Public Works… he started out humble before he finally got promoted.”

He added, “I admire my father that despite that challenge, he persisted in elevating himself in life… He did a course at London University, but he was tied up with work and never was able to complete it. I’m happy that all eight of my siblings were privileged to a secondary education, most of whom are, or were in the teaching provision.”
Determined to imitate his father’s perseverance, Sookram endeavoured to elevate himself academically. The journey up the academic ladder did not kick off on a great start, since Sookram was forced to join the police force just after secondary school in a bid to be financially independent. “I took a page out of my father’s book to be a hard working person and to have goals, and to work towards achieving those goals. But just after high school I joined the police force with only a few subjects. Even as a police constable then, I was still eager to improve my education,” he said.
A DREAM COMES ALIVE
Despite being a police constable, the urge to qualify himself academically propelled Sookram forward. Moreover, between the years 1977 and 1980, he attended the Government Technical Institute. There he perused a Diploma in Commerce. Studying, he said, was not as easy as he thought.
“It was challenging, because I applied to go to the Government Technical Institute and was still stationed at the Albertown Police Station. I was accepted to attend a course in Commerce and I attended classes there from 5pm to 9pm for three years. Still in the police force, I wrote my General Certificate in Education [GCE] done by a London University, that is the equivalent to today’s CXC. I continued studying my GCE and got six subjects inclusive Math and English… and that was the break,” Sookram confided.

With six GCE passes in hand, Sookram was finally accepted at the University of Guyana, where he pursued a degree majoring in Sociology and minoring in Management.
In fact he reportedly had the distinction of becoming, arguably, the first local Assistant Superintendent of Police to obtain a degree on the force.
But it was this level of qualification that helped him to truly realize his dream of joining the teaching profession. He recalled being easily accepted into the education system as an untrained graduate master. When asked how he coped with the transition from the police force, to the education system, Sookram said, “One of the thing we learned in the disciplinary service is to be adaptable in any situation, and I consider myself somewhat adaptable to any situation. I’m a person who try to learn quickly… if I have to deal with something I study it carefully before attempting it.”
With his qualifications and the perfect vacancy available, he was eventually appointed Head of the Business Department of the Anna Regina Multilateral in 1997. Under his stewardship the department gained attention nationally, when it excelled at two Caribbean Examination Council [CXC] exams.
TACTICAL TECHNIQUE
According to Sookram, one key thing that he learnt from the education system is that there are multiple ways to unlock a student’s true potential. “One of the strategies I used as head of the business department, was the instilling of a competitive spirit within my students. For me the Business Department had to stand out as the best. I had a high benchmark; if I send 30 students to write an exam I wanted 30 students to pass. I use to tell my students, don’t make a school’s name frighten or intimidate you…all of you are equals, it’s just a matter of studying, not just reading the book, but studying.”

Sookram pointed out that constructive studying habits, involves more than merely covering study material. For students to grasp the concept of a topic, he said, “there must be digging into all angles” of a specific topic. “As a teacher it’s important that you teach your students the research techniques. I use to photocopy the syllabus… Looking at all the past exams, when examiners are setting questions it’s often based on the objectives in the syllabus. I use to implore and demand that students read the different topics and make their own notes,” said Sookram. As such his appeal to his students was “Don’t take the text book whole sale and copy. It’s a matter of reading, understanding and making notes. Once a student understands a topic, it lives with them for the rest of their lives.”
Many will no doubt agree that dealing with adolescents today is one of the most difficult tasks. The late 90’s was no different, according to Sookram. But unlike today, more intense corporal punishment was permitted for indiscipline behaviour, he noted. “Being in the classroom was one of the best feelings ever. But there were times when disciplinary actions needed to be taken. I was a ‘no nonsense’ teacher. I don’t tolerate you breaking my rules. Boys stick with boys and girls with girls. If I find you pair off, you will get lashes… and then there were those boys who wanted to mix the liquor in soda and think they will get by the gate but from the moment I see you at the gate it was immediate turn back,” Sookram shared. In 2005, ‘Sir’ Sookram was appointed Deputy Head Master of the Anna Regina Secondary School just two years ahead of his retirement in 2007.
REFLECTION
Now in his late sixties, he is still reflecting on the experiences of the past, both in the disciplinary forces, and the teaching profession. Sookram, together with his wife, Kamlawattie Bephia, raised five children in their Maria’s Lodge home, on the Essequbio Coast.
Today this living legend remains an iconic figure for his children, three of whom have followed in his footsteps. “When I think of my past experience, the steps I took to get where I wanted, it stirs up a lot of emotion because it wasn’t an easy road. I don’t want my kids experience the same things that I experienced in life and I’m happy that most of them are already teachers,” he added.
Over the years the teaching profession has seen remarkable transformation, especially with the annual addition of newly trained professionals and Sookram believes there now exists an even greater opportunity for students to be effectively schooled.
“Teachers now are more equipped as opposed to back in the day, especially when it comes to dealing with the curriculum. In my time there wasn’t much trained teachers. Now there are a lot of trained teachers and that’s a plus for the teaching profession. There is now more expanded teaching education, especially in rural areas. In my time it was only the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) in Georgetown. Teachers had to leave and go study in the capital. Now there’s CPCE on the Essequbio Coast which allows teachers to study at the college and still teach at their respective schools,” he pointed out.
According to the retired DHM, there is still room for improvement in the education sector on the Essequbio Coast. The addition of a University of Guyana Campus, he believes, will be a golden achievement for education on the Essequbio Coast for quite a number of reasons. He noted too that “establishing a campus on the Essequbio Coast will be beneficial for Essequibians, persons in the Pomeroon and even the Essequibo Islands. Having a university campus for persons in Anna Regina will create employment for lecturers, cooks due to the dormitory and by extension improve education standard,” said Sookram.
For most teachers today, the experiences of teachers of old can be deemed inspirational. While it’s important for each teacher to expand his or her own academic horizon, it is equally important that the true potential of students be unlocked. “Teachers today must put the education of students first. Don’t short change the students; in other words if you have to teach the children on a topic, cover every corner of it because it sure will be an essential piece on exam day,” said Sookram. It fact his appeal to teachers of today is “Try to encourage as much class participation because it is critical, don’t leave everything on the students.”

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