Mr. Willis was never denied opportunity

–to meet with the CoI into the Education sector

Dear Editor,

I WISH to respond to a letter in your newspaper dated Wednesday, August 17, 2016 and appearing under the caption “I was denied my right to make a presentation”. It was written by Mr. Anthony Willis.Mr. Willis was never denied opportunity to meet with the Commission of Inquiry. He attended the first consultation at St Stanislaus College on Friday, April 22nd, and was the third speaker. Based on his initial statements, it was decided that the Commission would benefit from a comprehensive presentation. He was assured that he would have been communicated with, so that a convenient date and time could have been agreed to.

Mr. Willis was communicated with, and it was decided that the presentation would have been made on May 31. On the appointed day, Mr. Willis pointed out that additional computers were necessary for the presentation to be effective.

The Secretary to the Commission worked with the Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to ensure that the necessary facilities were in place, and Mr. Willis was so informed. The paper trail is available to show that there was ongoing communication. Mr. Willis was expected to make his presentation on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 15:30 hours at NCERD.

It is worthy to note that Mr. Willis was communicated with on August 8, so that he could have been reassured that everything was in place. Mr. Willis did not appear, and he is yet to provide a reasonable explanation for his absence. The Commissioners made at least ten (10) unanswered calls to his phone during the two-hour period of waiting.

It should also be noted that the Commission had invited a number of persons to the presentation, including a highly-trained music educator and his team. The only face-saving act was that the music educator took the opportunity to make a presentation that showed how music could contribute to the teaching of other disciplines.

The Commission of Inquiry into the Education Sector is prepared to listen to any individual or organization which is desirous of making a contribution. Mr. Willis’s statement is false, and is certainly unkind. It is distressing that such had to be placed in the public domain and thus ‘force’ a response.

However, the Commission wishes to thank Mr. Willis for his interest in contributing to an improvement in the delivery of education in Guyana, and is prepared to make another effort to facilitate his presentation at a time, date and place convenient to him.

Again, given its mandate, the Commission welcomes contributions from all stakeholders, and is committed to ensuring that the voices of these stakeholders are counted, as it aims to establish a baseline analysis of the state of public education in Guyana, and make recommendations to strengthen the sector’s strategic plan.
Best regards,
SUELLE FINDLAY-WILLIAMS
Public Relations
Commission of Inquiry – Education

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