The 36th Biennial Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) Conference yesterday kicked off with a church service at the Central Seventh Day Adventist Church, Church and Oronoque Streets, drawing representatives from 24 Caribbean territories.

The church was filled with CUT officials and teachers who travelled from across the Caribbean to attend the conference, as well as officials from the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) and Education Minister Priya Manickchand.
This church service included prayers, dance, a sermonette, worship songs and scripture readings, the first of which was done by Education Minister Manickchand.
Making brief remarks at the church service, GTU President Colin Bynoe posited that in order for the conference to be successful under the theme: “Improving the professional status of teachers in the Caribbean” they need wisdom and guidance from God.
Acknowledging the presence of persons who traveled long distances to be here for the CUT conference, Bynoe said that they are grateful for this as he encouraged them to remain  focused on the theme of the conference.
Alluding to the importance of the conference, he noted that the CUT is guided by their mission statement which states that it is “the umbrella organization for teachers’ in the Caribbean and is dedicated to the efforts to further the cause of teacher unions: to promote the status, interest and welfare of teachers, to improve the quality of education in the Caribbean and to unite the peoples of the region.”
And he also assured those persons who traveled from 24 Caribbean territories to participate in the conference that Guyana has the most hospitable people in the world.
The 36th Biennial Caribbean Union of Teachers Conference is being held here from August 4-9, 2013 and topics which will be discussed include violence in schools, marking of SBA projects, Grade Six examination across the Caribbean, as well as salaries and better conditions for teachers.