…angry that their colleague was also charged after she was beaten in school

MEMBERS of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), in a public show of condemnation for the recent attack on a teacher, called on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to reopen the case and ensure justice is served.

“We are not going to accept any longer parents going into schools and assaulting teachers …we are going to be calling on our authorities to reopen this investigation, we don’t believe justice was served,” said General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald, at the sidelines of a protest in front of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, on Monday.

Sherwin Dalrymple and his relatives had, allegedly, violently attacked a teacher of the St. Agnes Primary School, last Wednesday. The attack was carried out in school where several other pupils witnessed the altercation.

McDonald, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said the GTU condemns such grave acts of violence against teachers and urged the Ministry of Education to establish security protocols in schools to prevent similar altercations.

“Violence against teachers is a no, no for us. I’m not going to stifle my conscience to say teachers are always right, but regardless of whether teachers are right or teachers are wrong, there are procedures that are set out to deal with issues. The Guyana Teachers Union is saying what would have transpired last week…we are stamping that out, we are not going to accept it any longer, parents going into schools and assaulting teachers,” she explained.

McDonald, however, noted that the investigation that was launched was ‘slabby police work’ by the GPF, and the GTU is calling on the Police Commissioner and other relevant authorities to reopen the case, since it is believed that justice was not served.

“We don’t believe justice was served and it is based on the work that the police would have done in terms of the investigation and what they presented to the magistrate that is how she had to act. We are saying that it’s totally wrong not only for a parent to be assaulting a teacher but for a man to be kicking away at a woman… that is totally wrong,” she stated.
Additionally, Mc Donald stated that parents should not be allowed to enter a school compound unless there is an emergency which involves their child or children and, if there is an issue that needs clarification, parents should report to the Department of Education.

Meanwhile, teachers across Guyana were clad in black and white attire as they stood in solidarity of the recent violent attacks rendered on teachers in schools across the country.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Miss Thomas of the Three Mile Secondary, stated that parents ought to have respect for teachers since teachers are the ones who have to mold the nation.

She added that teachers and parents should have relationships for the betterment of a child and should be able to come to an understanding if an issue ever presents itself.
La Vaugn Williams, a nursey school teacher, stated that charity begins at home and children tend to repeat what they see and hear and sometimes act out.

“It’s ridiculous because, as a parent, you must be able to train your children before you send them off to school and you must first find out what your child originally did before you side with them and enter into a rage and approach a teacher, because children are picking up the same habits of their parents. Look at how children are beating on each other like animals and you know what the parents are saying, don’t let nobody beat them or knock them back,” she explained.

Another teacher, Ms. Lorianne Lespuer of the Ann’s Grove Secondary, stated that parents should be more informed on an issue before confronting teachers.

“I think that the act meted out to the teacher by the parent was totally absurd and preposterous…. some parents need to be more educated and informed as it relates to their children’s welfare,” she stated.