– says treatment of indigenous boy will never happen again

Even as Mae’s School has apologised 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, a meeting of government and school officials have determined that such issues should not happen again in Guyana.
On Wednesday, officials of the school met with officials of the Education Ministry and the parents of Chacon, Jason Chacon and Karen Small at the ministry’s boardroom on Brickdam. Both parties shook hands after the school formally apologised to the child’s parents.

Wednesday’s meeting was the second engagement by the Education Ministry with the school this week. 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 Education Ministry, 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.

The school said 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 its students.

“We recognise 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.

“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 released earlier on Wednesday.

The school 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 its commitment to cultural diversity and its importance in the dynamic educational environment at Mae’s.

In a separate release, the Education Ministry said Wednesday’s 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 School 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 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.