-Manickchand rebuts Mahipaul’s education promise at APNU Melanie rally

MINISTER of Education Priya Manickchand has responded swiftly and sharply to statements made by at A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Ganesh Mahipaul, who on Sunday night pledged to introduce guidance and counselling officers into Guyana’s schools if his party gets into power after the September 1 General and Regional Elections.

Speaking at A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) rally at Melanie Damishana on the East Coast of Demerara, Mahipaul cited several social issues facing school-aged children and said the opposition is “committing to primary and secondary schools for there to be guidance and counselling officers in our school system.”

“We need to put guidance and counselling officers so that they can start to find the issues at an early stage,” Mahipaul told party support gathered at the Melanie Shopping Plaza.

“We want to have a proper society, and we can reduce the crimes if we tackle it from the root cause,” he added.

But in a swift response via her Facebook page, Manickchand accused the APNU member of making empty promises about initiatives already implemented by the current administration.

“Ganesh Mahipaul trying to sound important and profound said the APNU will put guidance and counselling officers in school.

“Big man! It done,” she wrote, adding, “We have guidance and counselling officers in 97 of our 117 secondary schools currently, and that only happened under the PPP/C after 2020.”

She added that some schools currently have more than one officer, and where none are present, it is due to a lack of qualified personnel in the area. “But we are currently building living quarters for guidance and counselling officers,” she noted.

This publication understands that some schools have more than one guidance and counselling officers and that was done based on student needs.

Meanwhile, Manickchand also used the opportunity to criticise the APNU+AFC’s record in office, claiming the coalition “failed, neglected and refused to start or finish a single secondary school anywhere in Guyana for their entire five years.”

The back and-forth comes amid increased national focus on student well-being and discipline. Earlier this year, Minister Manickchand announced a new strategy to address bullying, including online bullying in schools. The plan, which is currently well under way includes consultation with key stakeholders and proposals such as parental contracts.

“We are trying to put together a full strategy,” she said in January. “We have not seen an increase in bullyism, but… bullying is not only in the classroom.”

The ministry has also credited targetted interventions, such as those at Campbellville Secondary School, for restoring discipline. “We met with the parents and took certain decisions,” Manickchand said, referencing increased parental involvement and supervision.