Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Education celebrated forty years of nursery education ‒ from September 1976 to September 2016.
It was most disappointing to note that most of the teachers who were stalwarts from the commencement of programme and who are currently alive and still residing in Guyana, were ostracized. No invitations were extended to those teachers to participate in that grand celebration.
In the early days of nursery education, nursery teachers were classified as dignified garbage collectors. Instructional materials were made manually from boxes thrown out by store-keepers. The Ministry of Education did not hire cleaners to clean the schools, so teachers were also cleaners. Head teachers were not given grants by the ministry to purchase essential commodities to enhance the smooth running of the schools, hence, teachers were ‘fundraisers’ and ‘official beggars’. Despite the many challenges faced by teachers at the commencement of the nursery programme, they worked beyond the call of duty.
It is an abomination that those who planned that special programme to celebrate ‘forty years’ of Nursery Education in Guyana, did not make any effort to involve teachers who were in at the genesis of the nursery programme to be a part of that auspicious celebration.
Yours faithfully,
Brenda Alleyne
Linda Dainty
Ulis Jones
Sandra Joseph
