THE Ministry of Education (MoE) yesterday sought to clear the air on accusations that teachers planning to go on strike are being threatened by Ministry officials, noting that such behaviour is not in keeping with the Ministry’s policies.

Following reports by teachers that they were being threatened not to take part in the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) upcoming planned strike action, the MoE yesterday dispensed a press release noting that it has taken the issue very seriously and launched an investigation.

It was when the GTU began meeting with teachers last Monday that it was noted that reports were coming in that teachers in Region one were being threatened by senior officials, while other teachers in Georgetown reported being targeted.

However the MoE says their investigation did not yield any findings to support the claims of the threat. Nonetheless, they said any such threat should be reported.
The Ministry of Education has taken note of an article published in the August 21st, 2018 edition of the Kaieteur News under the headline ‘Strike-ready GTU hears of threats to some teachers,’ the missive said.

“In that article, it was stated that reports reaching the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) indicated that some teachers in Region One were receiving threats from a senior official that they should not strike but rather report to work when the new school year begins.”
“An investigation carried out by the Department of Education in Region One did not reveal any findings that suggest such a threat was made. However, if indeed such a threat was made by an official of the Ministry of Education, it is advised that a formal complaint is made to the Ministry since this kind of behaviour does not align with the policies of the Ministry of Education.”MoE

The GTU is currently on a campaign lobbying support for a planned strike action that begins next Monday and runs into the school term that was scheduled to begin September 3. The GTU wrote to MoE earlier this month indicating that the teachers would be going on strike from August 27, after they were unsatisfied with the outcome of talks over the salary increases for teachers and several other financial and none financial issues.