Following an incident on a school compound, the Guyana Teachers’ Union is requesting protection for teachers from the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Police Force. It has been alleged that a parent and a student got into a fight last Thursday at Houston Secondary School.
In a now-viral video, a teacher associated with the school can be seen with a cutlass. The Ruimveldt Police Station was informed. The teacher’s release was obtained by attorney Darren Wade. The female teacher says she was attacked.
Upon leaving police custody, the teacher told local media that ‘this thing has become the new COVID’ and as an educator she would like to see a better relationship between teachers, parents and students so teachers can work on what they are being paid to do, which is to educate the charges in their care.
The Union in a Facebook post said: “It’s a total shame to see that a female teacher has to go to an extreme to defend herself at her place of work. The same place where teachers are expected to educate and keep learners safe, they themselves are unsafe.”
Meanwhile, Education Minister Priya Manickchand stated this on her Facebook page: “In every altercation between a teacher and parent/s, a child will be affected. Remember that. And dial down all the talks of violence and hostility.”
