By 
Since November 2024, I have been subjected to undue stress because of a particular workplace incident that officials from the Ministry of Education are yet to address and resolve. This matter moved from the confines of the school into the public domain and yet it is still to be resolved! A simple little issue.
Am I hoping for too much from them though since it was their own education officers who are responsible for the present state of affairs? No amount of degrees, management and leadership programmes that many of them boast about having completed can triumph over blatant prejudice and incompetence so maybe, I am hoping for too much from them.
Why this post
I’ve had to go over this incident to numerous persons with no resolution in sight, no sort of evidence being given to me and no feedback from anyone. I am truly fed up and frustrated. I feel as if they (MoE personnel) are trying to distort the facts and wear me down so that I’d start believing that I am wrong.
I also believe that they are trying to frustrate me to the point where I am so mentally exhausted that I give up and accept the gaslighting and unfair treatment. So, I am writing about this incident because I don’t want to repeat it over and over again. Those who are interested in knowing my side of the story can read about it here.
Writing
I started writing publicly in the newspapers when I became affected by neighbourhood issues which none of the relevant authorities helped me with such as garbage burning (https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/11/30/i-am-begging-for-some-authority-to-save-my-health/). And I continued highlighting the problem and other matters with the passage of time including workplace issues.
Writing has helped to highlight issues affecting me, give my opinion on a range of topics and is sort of therapeutic.
On being victimised by education officials
I’ve had to write about several workplace issues and it’s not like I make it my duty to look for problems to write about for the fun of it. I was directly affected, spoke about the matter with the headteacher and other colleagues and the resolution of the issues highlighted led to overall improvements in the workplace. For instance, in 2024, I publicly appealed for Spanish textbooks for the school (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/04/24/opinion/letters/annandale-secondary-school-needs-spanish-textbooks/). I was aware that the Book Distribution Unit had the required texts and after speaking about the matter several times with my superiors and not getting them, I decided to publicly appeal and the same week the BDU sent what was requested.
Before, teachers who taught the subject had to spend almost half of the allocated time (1 hr & 10 mins per week per class) writing on the blackboard. I had to form WhatsApp groups with the students particularly for assignments and long dialogues which would have consumed most of the period. Dictating was impossible since 99% of the students had no prior knowledge of the language.
However, having WhatsApp groups with them solely for schoolwork came with its own issues. For example, a student sent a pornographic image to me and once a parent/relative even sent me a video of himself masturbating. While the use of technological applications such as Google classroom and WhatsApp groups were necessary during the Covid period, with the resumption of face-to-face classes I recognised the need to use textbooks for my area.
During the term when ‘the incident’ occurred I wrote publicly about two issues. The first was about the involvement of a Ministry of Education (MoE) worker when her relative disrespected me in the classroom (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/09/18/this-moe-employee-encouraged-disrespectful-behaviour-from-a-student-and-his-parent-at-annandale-secondary-school/).
And the second matter was about the timetabling of a teacher who never reported for duty and was placed in absentia in my area. Because he never reported to his timetabled classes, the students were left unsupervised, disturbed nearby classes and teachers complained to me. Despite voicing my concerns and suggesting that the teacher be removed from the timetable until he reports for duty, this was not done. Eventually, I wrote about it and the next day what I suggested was implemented (https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/10/08/putting-the-cart-before-the-horse-on-the-curriculum-at-annandale-secondary-school/).
Then the education officer assigned to this school, Mr Loren Park who never assisted me when I was at Ann’s Grove Secondary School and even encouraged the HM there, Cindy Crandon to racially discriminate against me (https://lifeingy.com/the-ministry-of-education-guyana-condoned-discrimination-by-failing-to-act-fairly-and-decisively/), spoke to me about my public writings in the HM’s office. He said that whenever I write about school issues he is required to do a report about it for his superiors and this is interfering with his schedule.
Shortly after, persons started to call the school (so I was told by the HM) with complaints about me. These persons did not provide their names or give specific details. I told the headteacher that the complaints cannot be treated as valid if they are from anonymous persons and cannot be verified.
The incident
Then within a week, a parent came to the school when a ‘Math Intervention Initiative’ with the then Minister of Education, Ms Manickchand was occurring in the building. He accused me of raising his daughter’s anxiety and threatened to complain to the Minister about me. He was wearing a mask and claimed that he was recording me during the interaction. He also claimed that his daughter has medical problems which I should know about. I was never informed of her medical issues and my position on this matter remains the same, I did nothing wrong.
I have never been given access to the medical records of students, am not a special needs educator, never received special needs training and the school is not a special needs school. I explained to the parent that the child was simply told to put her finger to her lips. She kept walking around the class and talking during an assessment. At the end of the class while speaking to the students, I noticed that she left her seat so I called her. She came and stood next to me but proceeded to ‘defend’ herself for walking around the class. I told my students several times not to interrupt me while I am speaking to them but to ask questions or make comments after. I touched her elbow with my fingers (she had her arms bent) to slightly move her arm and indicated that she should put her finger to her lips. She complied and I continued speaking to the class for a few minutes more then I left. My interaction with the class was entirely normal and telling students to put their fingers to their lips for a few minutes is not a harsh form of discipline.
The next day, during a meeting with teachers and education officers, Mr Loren Park accused me of assaulting the child. When I tried to speak, I was accused of insubordination by another education officer, Mr Colwyn Delph. It should be noted that most if not all education officers were classroom teachers not management and administrative specialists but they should know the basics which include providing evidence to substantiate any accusation and allowing the accused to respond!
At 2:45 pm, I left the meeting. We were never given prior notification about this meeting, at 2:45 pm I have the right to leave the workplace and why should I stay in a meeting where I was being humiliated and not allowed to respond to allegations levelled against me? While at the door, an officer even asked me why I was leaving and I stated that I was not being respected here. He said nothing.
Due to this new development regarding a classroom interaction which I felt was completely normal, I saw the need to state what happened with the child in a letter addressed to the Headteacher, Mr Shakoor. He nor the substantive DHM were not present when the parent came to the school.
I was also prompted to compose the letter above to the HM because after the Math Intervention meeting with the education officers and us, a task sheet was posted in our WhatsApp group by the HM. By the way, the Math Intervention meeting was supposed to be about the poor mathematics performance of the students and how this can be improved. Although I am not a mathematics teacher, many of us were invited to this meeting which turned out to be a dressing-down session and nothing much about how students’ performance can be improved. I wrote about this here: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/12/25/education-officers-should-visit-schools-to-not-only-berate-but-to-improve/
The education officers, although not present at the meeting between the parent and me, came up with their own version of what happened to justify their actions. The only person who accused me of assault was their colleague; Loren Park. Furthermore, I was never confrontational with the parent who had a ‘Covid’ mask on for the entire meeting. And although he stated that he was recording me and threatened to complain to the minister, I simply told him that I did not give him permission to record me and that he was free to complain to whomever. I felt then and still do now, that I did nothing wrong.
My side
The welfare officer who was chosen to prepare the report as stated on the task sheet never contacted me. Furthermore, there was a blatant conflict of interest. A relative of the same officer attended the school and during a lesson earlier in the term, he was quite disrespectful to me. I wrote about the matter publicly after a confrontational episode with another relative of the child in the HM’s office. I felt unsupported and forced to accept disrespect from both the child and his relative (KN article).
Also, as stated on the task sheet, the Regional Education Officer, Ms Keane Adams was supposed to hold an inquiry into the allegation on 20th November 2024, I was never invited to be a part of this nor was I asked to submit a statement/report. I don’t know if the scheduled inquiry occurred. In an effort to get my side out, I wrote about the matter in the Stabroek Newspapers: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/11/15/opinion/letters/my-letters-to-the-media-have-contributed-to-improvements-in-annandale-secondary-school-for-which-i-am-now-a-target/. Still, there was no response from anyone and I did not receive guidance from the HM, DHM or other senior teachers on what to do or how to interact with the involved child. And there was no feedback on the matter; whether it was still being investigated or not.
Then in January 2025, I received a letter from the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of Annandale Secondary School. I replied to the letter and sent copies to everyone the chairperson had sent her copies to. However, I included the Minister of Education, Chief Education Officer and GTU. I pointed out certain inaccuracies in her letter including the fact that the headteacher nor my colleagues accused me of insubordination during the Math Intervention meeting. It was Mr Colwyn Delph, an education officer when I tried to respond to the accusation levelled by Loren Park. And I was never shown any evidence/documentation or statement ‘documented’ or otherwise regarding the matter by the relevant education officers nor was I told of exactly what I’d been accused of. For instance, was it alleged that I hit the child, slap her or what?
This is my response to the Chairperson of the Board.
I did not receive a response from Ms Findlay-Williams nor from the other parties I sent copies to. Therefore, when I was notified of a hearing with the Board of Governors of the school in mid February, I was hesitant and responded to the invitation.
There was no response to this either but on the scheduled date members of the board arrived and subsequently, I was informed that a member of the GTU was in the meeting. I decided to join since I felt that I might be treated a bit fairly. The Board consisted of the chairperson, headteacher, GTU representative, a former teacher and other members. Notably, Mr Loren Park, the education officer who accused me of assault and treated me deplorably for years at my previous workplace was also a member of the board! I was not told the names of the other persons and at a later date when I asked the HM for the names of the members he couldn’t tell me.
The meeting started off badly. I was under the impression that it was going to be about the assault allegation as stated in the chairperson’s letter to me. However, she begun with an entirely new set of allegations against me which she was reading from a paper. I informed everyone that I did not receive a copy of this document with the new allegations and yet the Chairperson continued reading. To date, I have not received a copy of this and during the meeting I tried to write what she was saying but she was going too fast. I can only recall being accused of racism and not allowing students to go to the bathroom. Later when I was allowed to view my file it became apparent where these allegations were coming from.
A teacher, W.G. who is on good terms with Loren Park made these allegations to the chairperson without giving me a copy of her complaint and she did not follow correct procedures nor behaved professionally. The allegations stemmed from an incident that occurred in the same class that the student who was allegedly assaulted is in. After I was accused of assaulting the student and the education officers from the DoE Region #4 stated that they were going to investigate the matter I was supposed to be sent on Administrative Leave or another teacher be assigned to the class. This is the usual procedure for accusations of such a serious nature. Furthermore, in the manual for discipline of teachers it states that for the offences I have been accused of the penalty is interdiction from duty. However, this was not done and I received no guidance from education officers nor the HM/DHM on how to interact with the student. I was basically forced to be in the same space with a student who I was accused of assaulting while an ‘investigation’ was ongoing!
My position then and now is the same: I did nothing wrong. So when I returned to the class right after the allegation was made I felt uneasy about interacting with the child. I didn’t know if she was a special needs child and I never received guidance nor training in this area. She was distracted throughout my class and left before dismissal without asking for permission. Then in January 2025, during my next session with her class, I noted the same behaviour but felt unsure of how to reprimand her and at the same time I did not want her classmates to feel that I was giving her special treatment and that they can engage in the same sort of behaviour. So I asked the teacher in the class next to mine to allow her to remain there for my period and do that subject. The teacher agreed but when I returned to my class, the students particularly the girl’s friends became disruptive. All of them suddenly wanted to go to the bathroom and while I was allowing them to go one at a time they became restless, kept constantly interrupting my lesson and were chatting among themselves. I believe they wanted to know where their classmate was and they misconstrued my action as racism. They were unaware of the issue between the student and me. Anyone who lives in Guyana would be aware that the society is racially polarised and there are tensions especially between Indo and Afro Guyanese.
Apparently, after my class they complained to their class teacher and the level head, W.G. And instead of following correct procedures by discussing the matter with me first, these teachers complained directly to the headteacher and Ms W.G. to the Board. Ms W.G. was in the meeting when Loren Park accused me of assaulting the child so she was aware of the issue as well as the headteacher. Although no evidence was provided to substantiate the allegation that my action was racially motivated and that I was not allowing the students to go to the bathroom, the headteacher allowed these false allegations to meet the level of the Board and the chairperson, Ms Findlay-Williams entertained them. Also, none of the teachers were in my classroom when the incident occurred nor is there a camera there. It was nothing more than blatant bias, incompetence and unprofessionalism.
Anyway, back to what happened in the meeting. After repeatedly requesting a copy of the document the chairperson was reading from and being denied, a member of the board asked me what I believed I was there for. I told them about the letter from the chairperson titled ‘Recommendation for disciplinary action’ charging me with child abuse, assault and insubordination. It seemed as if they hadn’t seen this since I was asked to read my copy. Then I explained to them what occurred during the Math Intervention meeting in November 2024.
At one point I mentioned that the meeting turned out to be more of a dressing down that an attempt to find ways of improving the performance of the students. The chairperson saw this comment as an attack on the initiative and begun speaking about the good works of her government. The chairperson is the Press Secretary to the President of Guyana & Director of Press and Publicity – Office of the President (as stated on her Facebook page). The purpose of the meeting became obscure and she told me to leave. I have not received any feedback from anyone. I do not know what decisions they made.
However, it is important to note that during the meeting I pointed out Loren Park as the person who accused me of assaulting the child and mentioned that I did not receive a copy of the report compiled by the DoE Region #4 nor copies of whatever evidence they had and I was not included in the investigation. One person on the Board who apparently works at the Ministry of Legal Affairs (I was not told his name) said that I should be given copies of the report and the documented evidence. To date, this has not been done. Furthermore, during the meeting some board members were perusing my personal file. I mentioned that I had never seen the contents. They said that the HM should give me access to it and he agreed.
I wrote about what occurred in the meeting.
The aftermath
Only some of my letters on the matter I’ve uploaded; this post would be too lengthy if I uploaded everything and wrote about every incident related to it. Nevertheless, I have not received any sort of correspondence or verbal feedback from the Board, MoE, headteacher or education officers. However, in January I expressed my frustration over the lack of resolution publicly, but this did not elicit a response: (https://www.stabroeknews.com/2026/01/24/opinion/letters/i-implore-the-chief-education-officer-to-meet-and-resolve-known-outstanding-issues-that-are-taking-a-toll-on-my-mental-well-being/)
Then in February a team which comprised of V. Jaikishun, R. Barnes and other officers from the MoE visited the school. I was told that the purpose of the visit was to check records however, they asked me about the incident with the child and her father. While I once again explained what happened, I recommended that they examine the documents on the matter.
Do I enjoy broadcasting my workplace issues in the public domain?
Absolutely not! The incident occurred since November 2024; it is now April 2026. Why can’t the relevant authorities address and resolve this simple matter? If correct procedures were not followed and there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations then admit, apologise and close it. If I was wrong, show me the evidence. I am not going to deny responsibility for my actions.
Why I keep harping on about the same matter?
Some people feel that I become stuck on one thing or the other and should move on and just forget about being wrongfully accused. However, there are wider implications if I just forget. I could be wrongfully accused of something similar in the workplace in the near future if the matter is not properly addressed. I believe that there was unprofessionalism and prejudice. Additionally, correct procedures were not followed in the first place which led to this simple school issue becoming such a huge problem. If this is not addressed then those who behaved unprofessionally and unethically will be empowered to continue treating me and others who they have power and authority over, in a similar manner.
My personal file
The headteacher has a file for each teacher in the school. At the meeting with the Board of Governors, I was told that the headteacher should give me access to it. When I given access in February 2025, I was taken aback. My file contained documents with allegations against me that I was never shown or given copies of, thereby denying me my right to respond. And many of these were from anonymous persons. For instance, some ‘students’ from a Grade 8 class were apparently asked to write notes about me which were then placed in the file without my knowledge. This stemmed from a minor incident which occurred in their class and the request for notes from the children criticising me by either the headteacher or educational officers was very unprofessional, unethical, a smear campaign and ‘vengeful’. A boy mocked me during the lesson and I complained to the HM about his behaviour which disrupted my class. Instead of a simple apology from him, his relative who works/worked at the MoE got involved. I wrote about the matter after: https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2024/09/18/this-moe-employee-encouraged-disrespectful-behaviour-from-a-student-and-his-parent-at-annandale-secondary-school/
In the file I also saw documents on other matters which I was never given copies of. I requested copies of all these documents from the headteacher since February 2025; to date he is yet to act upon my request. He said that he’d scanned everything and sent them to the chairperson who was going to give me copies but this has not happened. I even formally requested the documents in June 2025, and many times during our face-to-face interactions and in the teachers’ group yet I am either ignored in the group or given flimsy excuses in person. Treating me in this manner is insulting, disrespectful and very unprofessional. Either I am given copies of these documents since I have the right to respond or they are discarded from my file if they cannot be substantiated.
It is important that my concerns regarding my file be addressed. It seems as if the personal files of teachers are being used as weapons to smear them professionally and hamper their growth in the field. Usually when education officers visit schools they look at these files and the headteacher’s Log Book. Once an officer informed me the former HM (ag) had made a log entry about me. I was not shown this when it was made. Eventually when I did see it, it really was an act of spite. The HM (ag) came to the staffroom and loudly said at the door that my receipts from the cash grant given to me were not ‘balancing’; other teachers were in the room. I showed the HM(ag) using my phone’s calculator and the receipts that the sum given was accounted for (sometimes store receipts would have a sub total and then a total that includes taxes). He probably felt embarrassed but instead of admitting that he was wrong he said that he still couldn’t see the figures balancing so I told him that he needs to learn how to use a calculator. What else was I supposed to tell him? He then proceeded to rant loudly at the door about me being disrespectful and rude to him. And he wrote this only, leaving out the part about falsely accusing me and not being able to do addition correctly.
As I mentioned there are wider implications for public servants. President Irfaan Ali has mandated that the personal files of public servants be digitised which would allow easier access to them by the relevant authorities (https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/news/guyana-president-ali-sets-deadlines-for-full-public-sector-digitalisation/). Therefore, it is quite possible that in the future others could be reading the defamatory documents in my file which are unsubstantiated and have no response from me. This could unfairly affect me as a professional in the field. Is this just? Also, by not addressing this, the administrative staff would continue engaging in these unethical acts.
What I believe is the solution
The Ministry of Education has many officers who are tasked with resolving complex issues and are in management and leadership roles yet a simple little issue at a secondary school cannot be addressed and resolved in a timely manner? Guidelines and regulations govern the functioning of schools and conduct of teachers. Were the correct procedures followed when the incident occurred? No amount of leadership and management degrees and courses can compensate for bias which leads to incompetence.
If I were an education officer or the headteacher and the issue involved another teacher I would firstly define the problem. What exactly is the issue? Physical assault is broad; is it alleged that the teacher hit, slapped or kicked the student? After determining exactly what is the allegation, I would determine whether it is something that is allowed or not allowed in classroom management and the guidelines governing discipling students. If it’s something that is not allowed then I would check for evidence to corroborate the allegation. For example, if a child was hit is there a mark on his/her skin? What was used too. Then I would speak with the involved parties separately, cross-check the information received, determine whether the problem is as stated or not and resolve it following established guidelines.
The chairperson of the Board of Governors of Annandale Secondary School officially informed me, the director of the School Board Secretariat, the DCEO (Administration), Regional Education Officer (Region 4), Regional Executive Officer (Region 4), DEO and the headteacher that it was recommended that disciplinary action be taken against me since January 2025. What is supposed to happen next? Whoever is the chairperson now needs to issue another official letter to all parties on this matter. They either have a case against me or not. If I was wrongfully accused and there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations, then an official apology is required and this should be sent to all parties; this is the very least. If I were guilty would these people be dragging their feet like this?
Leadership is about accountability, transparency and taking responsibility for one’s actions. You do not ignore and pretend that something didn’t happen when you’ve made a mistake and displayed poor leadership and have poor conflict management and resolution skills. You take account, learn from the experience and improve as an individual. Also, you identify the breakdown in the system that led to the issue not being resolved in the first place and you address this so that a similar situation does not reoccur. This is good leadership and management; one does not need to take a fancy course to learn this. It comes from applying common sense and possessing qualities such as fairness, objectivity, accountability, respect for others even those who are your subordinate and empathy.
