–President Ali laments, as former Chief Education Officer dies tragically

DR. OLATO SAM, a former Chief Education Officer and adviser to the Minister of Education, was tragically shot by an alleged stray bullet sometime after 12 a.m. on Friday morning in the vicinity of Gold Rush Bar, located at Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.

The Guyana Chronicle has received information that Mr. Sam and his friends were present at Plaisance Line Top when two males started fighting, followed by sounds of gunshots. Seeing the fight and hearing the gunshots, the witness decided to leave, but later discovered that Sam had been shot in the chest and was on the ground.

The source related his friends swiftly picked up Sam and rushed him to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The Guyana Police Force (GPF) confirmed that “Police are investigating the shooting death of Adviser to the Minister of Education, Mr. Olato Sam, age 53, of Lot 2811 Youth Place, South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown, which occurred at around 00:30 hours on August 4th in the vicinity of Gold Rush Bar located at Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.”

Enquiries disclosed that around 23:15 hours Thursday night, Sam visited the Gold Rush Bar, where he met three of his friends, and, while there, they consumed a few drinks outside the bar. In the wee hours of Friday morning a fight broke out between two men on opposite sides of the bar. Two loud explosions, which sounded like gunshots, were heard from the direction of the two men.

Sam’s body is presently lying at the GPHC’s mortuary, awaiting a post-mortem examination. The two men who were involved in the fight were both arrested and are presently in police custody.”

In a heartfelt post on her Facebook page, the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, wrote, “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the news that Olato has been shot dead. He was once Chief Education Officer, with his last post being an Education Specialist. His contribution was always valuable. He was working on several things, but particularly a holistic national plan for addressing violence in schools, which he was finalising to present again to me. Deepest condolences to his wife, parents, sons, grandmother, and the entire education family.”

President Irfaan Ali also paid respect to Dr. Sam on his Facebook page by saying, “What a loss to the education sector and Guyana. My sympathies, love, and prayers are with the family of Dr. Olato Sam in this heart-wrenching time. May God strengthen you in faith and hold you up in patience.”

It was also said that he provided guidance for the effective implementation of educational policy at all institutions of higher learning under the Ministry of Education’s purview. He also represented the Ministry’s interests in a number of regional and international forums.

Additionally, Dr. Sam taught in the master’s and undergraduate education programmes at the University of Guyana. He also held several positions, such as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Cyril Potter College of Education, Commissioner on the Teaching Service Commission, Member of the Final Awards Committee of the Caribbean Examinations Council, Chairman of the Guyana School of Agriculture, Member of the CARICOM Taskforce on Teacher Education and Training, and Member of the CARICOM Task Force on the Establishment of Teaching Councils.