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Mahipaul raises constitutional concerns over TSC appointments
(Kaieteur News) – Opposition Member of Parliament and APNU spokesperson on Local Government and Regional Development and Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Ganesh Mahipaul, has raised serious constitutional concerns surrounding the swearing-in of members of Guyana’s Teaching Service Commission (TSC) yesterday.
Mahipaul contends that the process underpinning the appointments reflects a troubling pattern of constitutional erosion under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration. Under Article 207 of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the Teaching Service Commission is to be comprised of seven members. Crucially, Article 207(d) mandates that three of these members must be appointed by the President after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. This requirement is intended to ensure balance, inclusivity, and bipartisan oversight in the governance of the public teaching service.
Member of Parliament, Ganesh Mahipaul.
Mahipaul argues that President Irfaan Ali is likely to say that he had to proceed with the appointments while maintaining the position that there is currently no Leader of the Opposition. But the opposition MP firmly rejects this premise, stating that the absence of a formally recognised Leader of the Opposition is not the fault of the 29 Opposition Members of Parliament, but rather the direct result of actions taken by the Speaker of the National Assembly, who was himself selected by the current administration. “This is precisely the kind of constitutional erosion we in the APNU have been warning about,” Mahipaul said. “What we are witnessing is a maturing dictatorship unfolding before our eyes, fed and sustained by none other than President Irfaan Ali.”
The Teaching Service Commission plays a critical role in Guyana’s education system, with responsibility for the appointment, promotion, discipline, and removal of teachers within the public, non-board school system. Given the Commission’s influence over the careers of thousands of educators nationwide, Mahipaul emphasised that strict adherence to constitutional provisions governing its composition is not optional, but essential to democratic governance. He further accused the PPP/C administration of engaging in political “optics” to distract both the local population and the international community, while simultaneously disregarding the constitutional guardrails designed to protect Guyana’s democracy. “What is even more troubling is the silence of the international community,” Mahipaul added, “which is too often seen wining and dining within the very optic illusion created for them.”
However, when questioned by the media as to why did he go ahead with swearing in the TSC members in the absence of opposition leader, President Ali said because it’s important. “It’s an important constitutional responsibility that has to be executed. The minister came to me and explained the importance of this for the system itself, and I don’t want a new term to start without having the commission in place to make important decisions that would allow the quality of teaching to improve and also allow opportunities, more opportunities to be given to our teaching process of consultation with the organisation.”
The President added: “I don’t know the opposition will be a he or she. There might be a view that the opposition leader might be a he, but I can’t say. I can’t predict what will happen? That’s a vote one way or another, an opposition leader will be here, and when an opposition leader is there, the President will fulfill his responsibility in accordance to the Constitution. The work of the government must continue, the work of the Constitution must continue, the work of getting our teachers. You just raise that. That’s the complexity. You just raise the issue of teachers retiring without having maybe the opportunity to be promoted a lot more.”
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