Mae’s School has issued an apology to the family of nine-year-old Joshua Chacon, who was allegedly evicted from the school after his indigenous attire was deemed inappropriate during a recent culture day activity.
“Diversity in education and the creation of educational opportunities for students from diverse cultural backgrounds constitutes the bedrock of Mae’s Schools”, the school said in a statement.
The school said that as as educational institution , it is defined by the belief that a multiplicity of ideas and beliefs, cultures and cultural values enrich the learning experience of our students.
“We recognize that this event created trauma for the student, his family and the community. We deeply regret the incident, and offer our most sincere and profound apologies to the student and his family for the hurt and pain which he suffered as a result,” the school said.
It noted that its primary focus and concern was, and remains, that the unintentional hurt and pain caused by this event be addressed in a manner which not only repairs any damage caused, but reconfirms our commitment to cultural diversity and its importance in the dynamic educational environment at Mae’s.
Meanwhile , the Ministry of Education in a release issued on Wednesday stated that parents of student, the leadership of the school, Education Ministry officials and officials of the Ministry of Social Cohesion discussed the matter on Wednesday .
At that engagement , both parents of the student accepted the school’s apology while the child’s father Jason Chacon went further to state that he would like to see more traction to bring awareness to culture in Guyana.
Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson, Deputy Chief Education Officer (Admin), Ingrid Trotman, Ministry of Education’s Legal Officer,Kelly-ann Payne-Hercules, Private School Coordinator within the Ministry of Education, Ms. Doodmattie Singh, Programme Coordinator – Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, Sharon Patterson , Stacy French , owner of the school and Administrator of Mae’s Schools, Lucinda Mc Curdy attended the meeting.
According to the release , Minister Henry said that had better judgment prevailed, the entire episode could have been avoided. She said that the issue must be dealt with in such a way that when persons look back in retrospect, they must recall that it was resolved amicably and be reminded that there must be tolerance and respect for diversity.
Hutson stated that to begin resolving the issue, an apology is necessary as well as psycho-social support for the child. Patterson supported the need for psycho-social support and pledged her Department’s willingness to also work with the teachers and staff of the school to ensure they have a better understanding of diversities and to enhance their capabilities to deal with such.
Wednesday’s meeting was the second engagement by the Education Ministry with the school. It followed another which was held on Monday in which Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock and Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton along with officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of the Presidency and the leadership of Mae’s Schools discussed the issue.
At that engagement it was concluded that the matter should have been resolved earlier, closure was needed as soon as possible and that there should never be a recurrence of such issues in Guyana.
