AS the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) continues with its strike action and with school just days away from officially re-opening, many parents are apprehensive about how the situation will affect their children’s education, even with the Ministry of Education putting together a contingency plan that would see substitute teachers temporarily filling the slots.
The situation has left some parents split on their support for the strike. Several parents and other guardians, have thrown their full support behind the teachers; however, others are not so supportive.

But even the most sympathetic of parents are concerned about what will become of their children’s education if the strike goes on indefinitely, as the GTU is vowing.
“I support what’s in the best interest for the teachers. They mould our nation, they deserve every right and benefit which they are asking for. Their pay should be made at par, if possible, to their contemporaries in the Caribbean,” opined business owner Frank Satnarine, who has seven children in the public school system, on the West Bank of Demerara.

Despite his support, he is uneasy about his children’s education if this strike goes on for too long.

“Definitely I am kind of worried, because the time for the new term is near and nothing solid is arrived at as yet. We do not have an independent education system, we work alongside the other members of CARICOM.”

However, on the East Bank of Demerara, Maurice Dos Santos is not too worried as he believes teachers do a lot, so they deserve more, and he understands that a few sacrifices will have to be made.

“Well you have to give to get, so certain sacrifices have to be made. I would be supporting the teachers 100%, because the cost of living is very high, the salary is very low, for the teachers, and certain public servants. I think the teachers’ salary should be anything between $120,000 – $180,000,” he suggested.

It was last August 9 that a decision was taken by the GTU, on the insistence of several of its members, to call strike action due to failed talks between the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the GTU, over an agreement on a way forward as it pertains to several issues facing teachers. The most pressing of the lot being salary negotiations and the teachers’ debunching monies.

The two sides still made no headway following a subsequent meeting on August 16, and are still currently deadlocked on whether to move on to conciliation or arbitration. The GTU is saying that they are willing to call off the strike if the situation moves to arbitration, however, the MoE is calling for the conciliation process to first be exhausted before the dispute is moved to arbitration.

“My biggest concern is that after two months, the children are anticipating going to a new school. What will parents relay to them now? For me, my child will have to go back to day care because I do not have a baby sitter, and that will incur more cost on me,” expressed one frustrated Linden mother with a child about to enter nursery school.

Thinking not only of her child, she ponders what about other children with defining exams looming. She thinks the teachers are being just a bit unfair.

“What will happen to the children writing examinations, especially the NGSA students, what will happen to them? I think the percentages proposed by the GTU are very exorbitant, [they should consider] what the government can afford.”

The MoE is offering the teachers an overall payout of $700M for salary increase in 2018. However, GTU President, Mark Lyte contended that when stretched across the approximately 10,000 teachers in the system, the money will come up to very little individually, so the GTU rejected the offer. He also noted that the salary issue had to be addressed retroactively, as increases for 2016, and 2017 also need to be dealt with.

The GTU is asking for a 40 percent across-the-board increase for teachers for 2016; with incremental five percent increases from 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively, for all categories of teachers.

The salary issue is just one of a whole host of issues that the GTU is hoping that the MoE will address.