(QUOTE) “A man’s life is not determined by his beginnings. If one is persistent, one could actually achieve. It wasn’t always easy. I know about not having food to eat. But with God’s help, one can rise from the ashes. I think I have done well if I were to grade myself coming from the background I came from.”

MARCEL Raymond Hutson took the advice of his father from a very early age and paid attention to his education. The family was poor and hadn’t the nicest of conditions to deal with in East La Penitence Housing Scheme.
But throughout those times, Hutson’s dad, Richard, now deceased, always stressed the importance of taking education seriously as he felt it could have taken the family out of their poverty.
Hutson, 48, is now the Assistant Chief Education Officer with responsibility for over 400 primary schools in Guyana. He describes himself as someone who is gentle but firm; a no nonsense kind of guy.
In 2005, he was appointed District Education Officer for Region 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and in 2007 he was appointed Regional Education Officer for Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice). Under former Education Minister Shaik Baksh, Huston was appointed Principle Education Officer responsible for all schools in Georgetown.
Hutson has thus reached this conclusion: “A man’s life is not determined by his beginnings. If one is persistent, one could actually achieve. It wasn’t always easy. I know about not having food to eat. But with God’s help, one can rise from the ashes. I think I have done well if I were to grade myself coming from the background I came from.”
Hutson went to Ms Thomas Nursery School and then to East La Penitence Primary. He started school late and so could not write what is now known as the National Grade Six Exams, for which he is now a key person. So he had to do the Secondary School Proficiency Entrance Exam and this aided him to secure a place at Christ Church Secondary.

Hutson became a work study student at the Central Medical Laboratory and when his time was up, he decided to stay on and work for one year without pay. But eventually, the quality of his work was observed and he was hired as a laboratory aid.
“My father taught me certain principles that if you stay in one place long enough, you might gather something. He always said a rolling stone gathers no moss,” Hutson said in explaining his decision to work without pay.
He thought he would gain invaluable experience by sticking around the lab and besides, staying home each day doing nothing did not appeal to him.
Hutson eventually applied to Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and was accepted as a student. So he had to leave work with pay to go and study. But this worked out just fine for him. As compared to the $300 he was earning, CPCE offered teachers $400 to care for their study expenses.
“To tell you the truth, up to this day, of all the pubic servants, teachers are the best paid. When you compare a teacher’s salary to other public servants, teachers are higher paid up to this day,” he said.
Hutson graduated from CPCE and went back to the same primary school he attended. He then moved to St John’s College which facilitated his attending the University of Guyana (UG). He started doing sociology and graduated with a degree. In 2000 he went back to UG and did a post graduate course in education administration.
In 2009 Hutson got a government scholarship to do a Masters in Education with the Nova University in the United States and UG combined. Of the 40 in the class, only five persons graduated and he was happy to be among those.
Huston has this advice for persons wishing to enter the field of education: “When you decide to become an educator, your initial response must never be for pay but you must recognise you can impact the lives of people. If your focus is strictly on money you will be miserable. It is a calling, a vocation. But if you’re looking for money, it may not be the best place for you to be.”
He credits his success with inspiration from his father who kept talking to him about how he can become a successful individual. His exposure to the Bible later in his life also served as inspiration to him.
Hutson enjoys working along with Education Minister Priya Manickchand. “We have a very energetic and lively minister. What I like about her is she believes that good things come at a cost. And the beautiful thing about it is she is always willing to pay once the services are good.”
Hutson, a pastor with the Assembly of God Church, is married to Deborah and they have a son, Yeshua. His mom, Winifred, almost touching her 80s, is still around.
By Telesha Ramnarine