Classrooms empty as more Essequibo teachers join protest

Feb 10, 2024 News

Empty classrooms as teachers take to the road on the Essequibo Coast to protest for better wages and salaries

Kaieteur News – On the Essequibo Coast in Region Two, the presence of students in classrooms dwindles amidst the ongoing protest by teachers demanding better wages. Yesterday marked the fifth consecutive day of protests, with an increasing number of educators joining the demonstration.

When the teachers turned up for the fifth day of protest action in front of the Regional Education Office, located at Cotton Field, a police officer relayed instructions barring teachers from utilizing the benab, a structure they had utilized during the initial four days of protests.

Sir Martin Samaroo, a prominent voice among the striking educators, said that the police informed him that the teachers were not permitted to make noise near the schools in the vicinity.

For the past five days, Sir Samaroo has delivered impassioned remarks directed towards the government’s handling of their demands for better wages for teachers.

On day two he asked, “So, in the Oil Republic of Guyana, you’re saying, in a trillion-dollar budget, all that you can give teachers is 6.5%, which is, in fact, about 18% less than the inflation rate. That’s being very generous. Is that what you’re saying to us, Minister, Honourable Minister [Minister of Education Priya Manickchand], is that what you’re saying?”

Sir Samaroo, a non-Graduate Senior Assistant Master said during day three of the strike, “You want to know what the salary has become after the increase $137,000, yes $137,000…if it wasn’t for the love of the profession, why are teachers putting up with this…?”

Yesterday, he disclosed to this publication that since he has been speaking up publicly, “They [the government] have made my name a target of discussion, they have been looking into me, looking into my family history… they looking for all sorts of dirt they can find on me right now. I’m not worried about that, but I would like people to see how serious they (government) are taking this thing.”

Despite these challenges, he remains resolute in his advocacy for improved conditions for teachers.

On Thursday, expressing the notion that he is the least bit worried about teachers from communities deemed to be strongholds of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) being engaged in the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) led strike, Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo said that teachers should not fear victimisation from his government.

Moreover, the impact of the strike extends beyond the protest site, with several schools along the coast experiencing disruptions to normal operations.

Empty classrooms bear witness to the absence of both students and educators, prompting makeshift arrangements to accommodate those who do attend. College teachers and national pathway workers have assumed supervisory roles in some instances, attempting to maintain continuity in education amid the ongoing strike.

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classrooms, Essequibo, salaries, strike, teachers

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