GEORGETOWN, Guyana, June 7,CMC – Education Minister Sonia Parag says a comprehensive file containing the reports, statements, findings and recommendations arising from the Ministry’s investigation into the mistreatment of a special needs student by two teachers, has been submitted to the Teaching Service Commission (TSC).
In making this disclosure, the Education Minister explained that while Ministry is responsible for the management and oversight of the education system, the TSC is responsible for the hiring and firing of teachers at non-board schools.
She added that the TSC is therefore expected to take appropriate action at the conclusion of a planned disciplinary hearing. That process, according to the Education Minister, is expected to be completed within 10 days.
“We have done our international investigation but the teachers are employed through the Teaching Service Commission and they have to carry out their inquiry and they have said to us that they should be concluding their inquiry within another 10 days,” Parag said.
She also said the Ministry of Education will continue to cooperate fully with the Commission and provide any additional information required to facilitate the timely completion of the proceedings and added that since the incident, she has visited the school, and has met with the affected parents, guardians and the Head Teacher to not only hear their concerns, but to assure them that the matter would be treated with the utmost seriousness.
“What I would have done from last week, I went immediately to the school itself, I met with the parents, I met with the principal, the HM of the school. I also met with the parents later on to try and assist with getting the child to continue therapy that he has to take,” Parag said.
Officials from the Education Ministry also met with members of staff of the school, the executive of the Parent-Teacher Association and the wider PTA body as part of its own investigation.
But as it awaits the decision of the Teaching Service Commission, the Ministry of Education has taken steps to strengthen oversight and governance at the institution.
Those steps include the establishment of a Board of Governors, and the Board is expected to enhance accountability, supervision and engagement between the school and the families it serves.
Parag said the Government and the Education Ministry remain unwavering in their commitment to protecting every child within the education system.
The Ministry launched its probe at the school after a video surfaced on social media with two teachers using a belt to whip a young child who has autism.
The Education Minister said the treatment depicted in the video is wholly unacceptable and does not reflect the values, standards or expectations that they hold for those entrusted with the care and education of the nation’s children
