Dear Editor,
It is clear from the actions and attitude of some Regional Education Officers that they are geared to frustrate the parents and teachers in Kwakwani. How can a simple phone call to a community postpone a calendar activity like inter-house school sports? All schools in Guyana are conducting their inter-house sports but Kwak-wani schools have to wait on officials from Linden to officiate. Never in the history of Kwakwani have I heard of regional officials officiating at inter-house sports.
A little inquiry shows that these officers want to be in Kwakwani to time the children for the various events. How can they come to time our children and not say to us what are the times for the various events? Why is it only Kwakwani schools which these officials are singling out? No other school in the entire region has had their inter-house sports postponed so regional officials can officiate. And this happened with just a phone call. Is this the level of contempt these officials have for the residents of Kwak-wani?
Kwakwani over the years has produced athletes of national quality. Some whose records stood for years in the Nationals Schools Championship Record Book and whose names are used in relation to championships in Linden are Nicholas Morian and Elton Jeffords.
Editor, for a number of years the schoolchildren in the lower Berbice River have been denied the opportunity to participate in school sports, and this move by some regional officers to officiate at our inter-house sports is seen as denying the entire sub-region the opportunity of competing against the children in Linden to be selected to represent District Ten.
As a community, we are thoroughly against this as we know that finance has been budgeted for our children to participate, and if there had been changes in the selection process for inter-schools participation, all schools in the region, Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union would have been notified via a circular, not by a telephone call.
We are calling on the Regional Education Department of Region Ten, the Guyana Teachers Union and the Ministry of Education to please ensure that officers assigned to Kwakwani are prepared to work with our parents and teachers to bring out the best in our children.
For the past couple of years, the actions and attitudes of some of these officers have been stifling and frustrating. There is no event planned by any school in Kwakwani that is wholeheartedly supported by some officers, and the postponing of the inter-house school sports is just the most recent act.
This type of behaviour was highlighted by Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman at a public meeting with officers of the Guyana Teachers Union who conducted a training workshop in the community a few months ago.
Kwakwani, like every other community needs the support and encouragement of the officers to bring the best out in our children for their all-round development.
Yours faithfully,
Jocelyn Morian
