Teachers at Queen’s College staged a sit-in yesterday, vowing to continue until their concerns about the appointment of retired Deputy Principal, Gem Rohlehr to the post of temporary Deputy Principal are addressed.
On October 31, Rohlehr retired and on Thursday a valedictory function was held for her. It was then that her appointment as temporary Deputy Principal was announced. Speaking with reporters, two staff members said that the manner in which Rohlehr was appointed is not in keeping with the established procedures and there was no consultation with staff about the appointment. Further, they said, there has never been a position of “temporary Deputy Principal”. It was stated that Chairman of the Board of Directors, Laurie Lewis announced that she would be the temporary Deputy Principal until December 31. According to information, her teaching appointment could then be confirmed.
“We feel… we have been cheated,” said a senior teacher, who asked not to be named. She said that the school’s administration has no regard for the teachers. All the teaching staff – over 40 in number – participated in the sit-in, she said, and over 700 students are affected. No teaching was done yesterday and teachers later met the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) representatives. She vowed that the protest will continue until somebody “tells us something”.
Meanwhile, Lyndon Hector, the staff representative on the QC Board of Governors, said that the staff wanted Rohlehr’s appointment rescinded as they felt it was not a fair decision and the next person in line has been sidelined. He said they wanted Rohlehr to go on due retirement and “not cause problems…”
The way in which the announcement was made was also a cause for concern, as according to the teachers, they were told that if they wanted to challenge the decision, they could do so. They said that there would not have been a problem if the matter had been discussed with staff beforehand.
Hector pointed out that according to the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for re-hiring retired Heads and Deputy Heads of schools, they cannot return to the same school in the position they held.
This newspaper was told that a former staff could he re-hired at the same school based on the need. He said that the staff had had problems with Rohlehr and they feel the ministry has erred in appointing her.
The teachers have vowed to continue the sit-in if the appointment is not rescinded. They said that should Rohlehr be re-hired she should be retained only to teach her subject and not in an administrative position at the school.
According to the staff, the school is not one where their concerns are heard and addressed and when issues are raised, they are reminded about “culture and tradition”.
Meantime, the staff yesterday discussed their concerns with the GTU representative and also the head teacher of the institution.
Among the additional concerns raised was the non-appointment of some members of staff, the “disrespect” of staff by the school’s board as well as the fact that there had been no Parent Teachers Association meeting for a while.
This is the typical dictatorial behavior that is expected from the Guyana Government’s Pee Pee Pee administration. To just force their will unto the faculty of Queens College is wrong and is an outrage.
The politicization of the learning institutions in Guyana is creating a toxic environment
Rohlehr just want to be in charge all the time like she’s the Head of the School or something.
…kinda surprised that more QC students ain’t blogging about her. Everyone know Ms. Rohlehr.
-former QC student.
Moderator the whole essence of my comment is lost when you edit it like that. You might as well just take the whole thing off.
Good (or is it bad?)to see QC teachers in the news defending principles and professional norms.Usually when the school is in the news it is about some older gentlemen who still believe that some exam they passed as 10/11 year olds qualify and entitle them for life, all things Guyana.I am wondering if Laurie Lewis who made this “appointment” of deputy principal, is of one of these gentlemen.If he is then we are back on the QC old students regular script.
You all are making a mountain out of a mole hill. It has been a tradition to re-hire retired QC Masters and Mistresses . Yango, Pilgrim, and a number of our Iconic teachers were awarded this opportunity to continue to mould the hearts and minds of the talented tenth long after they passed the retirement age. The role these icons play is much more than meets the eye.
This is a dog in the manger response by the teachers who are against this appointment and reflects the depths to which this once noble institution has sunk.
QC needs every teacher it can find.
Look to win-win and eschew this divisive nonsense.
Put a sock in it Patriot ! The man is being rehired as Deputy Principal. He needs to ’stretch his pension’. Plain and simple and, Lewis pulled some strings. This has nothing to do with the ‘hearts and minds of the talented tenth’.
patriot, it would have been wonderful if you were a senior teacher there, and next in line for the post of deputy, and they rehired this lady and prevented you from moving up.
These folks are bothered by the way this was done. Business as usual eh?
I know Yango…and I am sure that this lady was no Yango. Yango was not Deputy Principal.
I was among those who went over to BHS when Banham made all schools co-ed. Things went downhill soon after when good teachers who crossed paths with the PNC were sent to small schools in Essequibo Islands and other distant places. They were replaced with teachers who were card carrying members of the PNC.
If you know Ms.Rohlehr you won’t be saying that…….
Patriot,
No one has a problem with retaining retired teachers. The position is however, that when re-hired, they should be re-hired as teachers plain and simple, while the first preference for senior administrative appointments should go to qualified teachers who are not retirees. This happened at Q.C. with Ms. EWR Rawlins, Mr. F. Maloney and others in recent times.
OMG!!!! patriot how can u say its nonsense??? whats wrong with u?????? Yango and Pilgrim may have been rehired as masters and mistresses because as u said they were iconic teachers!!!! rolie polie is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar off from their league… i’m sure the other teachers at the school when yango and pilgrim were rehired never staged a sit in… or never even wanted to!!!! Miss bhoj who is an EXCELLENT teacher and a senior mistress was rehired as an ordinary teacher… she is one of the prized teachers of qc… ask any student(past or present) and they will agree wiht me…. why wasn’t she as privaliged as rolie to be rehired in her same position??? THE MAIN POINT IT IS NOT FAIR AND NORMAL PPL DON”T LIKE ROHLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe I’m just cynical but sit in, strikes, criticism, etc rarely work in Guyana. Maybe because it’s never sustained or perhaps because Guyanese have a very short attention span. Maybe it’s all the pressure of their daily lives and other distractions. Torture just doesn’t happen. It’s policy. It’s culture. Arbitrarily imposing wages and salaries on public servants when there are established collective bargining arrangements available. These things don’t just happen. This cheap trick by the Q C board/Ministry of Education was well planned: didn’t just happen. Revealations of government complicity in the just concluded khan’s matter. All these things and more, in whole or in part, point begs the question “where is the national outrage”. There appears to be mass resignation rather than indignation.
Bringing back these retired teachers won’t solve the problems.
This particular character has created havoc in Queen’s College, not only has she driven away many teachers but she has tried to stop the traditions and cultures. She has tried to stop the day designated for marching before Sports and she wants Standard Trials to be done on her watch. The entire school population is now predominantly in Wholly house. She has tolerated a particular individual in that school for a year who tormented students, never taught and complained to her about everything which she willfully listened to whereas she never listened to other teachers’ plea.
She’s such a headache to teachers and students at QC.
Ms. Rohlehr coming back is like THE RETURN OF STRESS. edit that!
If is true what is being said in this the case about the attitude, comportment, performance and pedagogy of this teacher, then I apologize.
I still think, though, that it is infra dig for “QC” teachers to protest and carry on like fish mongers.
Reasoned and principled dialogue solves all. Eschew this protest, strike, channa bomb, choke and rob, conflict focused behavior towards a more peaceful and national front.
And try to set an example for the “talented tenth”.
“I still think, though, that it is infra dig for “QC” teachers to protest and carry on like fish mongers.”
u got to be kidding me??? how is having a peaceful sit in classified as behaving as fish mongers???? that is a diplomatic way of speaking out if u ask me!!!! the teachers cud have bused, cursed…… BUT THEY DID NOT!!!!!!!!! THEY HAD A PEACEFUL SIT IN!!!!!!!!! BECAUSE THEY R TEACHERS AT QC AND THEY BEHAVE IN A CIVILIZED MANNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since last year September there was speculation that she would quit to go and work at Bishop’s. She just won’t let go of Q.C. She’s extremely biased, even when it comes to teachers! So it’s perfectly understandable that they are reacting this way to the situation at hand.
bispattie, where in this report it said the govt had anything to do with this? instead did’t you read it was lewis who is pulling some strings? get some glases if you can’t read properly.
Aye,
You aint d man that just said today that when you reach 55 you retire? You aint got shame. You should at least pretend you aint see dis story.
If you believe that the appointment of the Deputy Principal of the best school in the country has nothing to do with the government I could sell you a crematorium at Baboo John
Lewis should take over from Greene.Q.C.does not need “police tactics”.
I’m a foreign language teacher at QC and she has always had her input on a subject that she knows nothing about. I’ve had many confrontations with her and at times i just wanted to offer her a Tic-Tac. I speak for everyone when i say that we will continue our sit in until this entire thing is cleared up!!