Dear Editor,
Mr Leon Jameson Suseran, in a letter to the editor (‘New Amsterdam Multilateral celebrates 33 years’ SN 17.9.08), states:
“The New Amsterdam Multilateral Senior Secondary School (NAMS) celebrated its 33rd year of existence last Monday, September 15, 2008, with a simple assembly that was held in the school’s multi-purpose hall.
The school opened its doors in 1975 and was then named the New Amsterdam Senior Secondary School but was later renamed after the formation of a chain of multilateral schools dotted across the coastland of Guyana.”
I think that Mr Suseran has misdirected himself and may, unwittingly, have misinformed the assembled students.
There is no school in Guyana that has been officially re-named a multilateral school.
They are all secondary schools set up to pursue a multilateral programme. This has been pointed out, from time to time, privately to some of the heads and teachers, but the figment of ‘multilateral school’ has continued (cf, NAMS in New Amster-dam and ARMS at Anna Regina). In the early days, the deputy heads of such schools were paid as Grade A headteachers, while the heads were paid on an even higher scale.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and Address
provided)
